Calendar Boy (KLance)
by Kingpin1055
Summary: Twelve months, twelve snippets in the lives of Keith and Lance as they traverse 2018. In January they start the year off fine, but where will they be by December?
1. January - 'We start the year off fine'

**Author's Note** : Inspired by Neil Sedaka's "Calendar Girl", and Dee Dee Sharp's "Calendar Boy" cover - each chapter's plot is prompted by the lyrics of the songs (with some creative interpretation for a couple of the months). 

* * *

**January - "We start the year off fine"  
**

* * *

He could feel the pulse of the song, the bass repeated in a base beat, although he couldn't make out any lyrics or melody. The song reverberated in his skull, and he instantly hated it.

It took Lance McClain a few groggy minutes to realise the song he was listening to wasn't a music track at all, but the throbbing of a dehydration headache. The New Year's Eve party last night had been a good one.

And it looked like he'd gotten lucky.

It had become his aim to find someone attractive to kiss as the clock struck midnight, and to date he'd been lucky enough to have had a perfect unbroken streak of three years in a row.

And to mark the start of his 18th year, he'd woken up in his bed with an arm wrapped around him, which was new. He was usually big spoon, but like more than a few things in his life, Lance could be _pretty_ _flexible_.

His companion slept quietly, the soft sounds of their breath accompanied a gentle touch of warmth on the back of his neck. Not wishing to disturb them for the moment, Lance lay still, and took in what little he could see of the figure he'd spent the night with.

His bed mate was male, if the muscle definition in his companion's arm wasn't already enough of a tell-tale sign, there was also the tell-tale hint of axe body spray, favoured by prep boys... And guys either with little taste, or a limited budget.

Lance smiled to himself, getting a midnight kiss was nice enough on its own, but spending the first few hours of the first day of the new year intimately with someone else seemed like the perfect start to 2018, maybe the guy sleeping with him would be interested in giving a relationship a try?

It was a little frustrating that he couldn't seem to recall who exactly he was sleeping with, the night had gotten hazier around 1:00am, and while he remembered bits and pieces of the new-born year, such as stumbling to his room and taking his clothes off. He was having a really hard time trying to remember who he had been sleeping with.

Sighing and resolved to the fact he was going to have to roll over and inspect his companion; Lance extricated himself from the other guy's embrace as gently as he could, and set their arm down on the pillow.

That's when he saw his bed mate's face.

Black hair. Angular features. A brow that was often furrowed in a frown.

He'd been sleeping with Keith Kogane. He'd been sleeping with Keith Kogane! He'd had Keith Kogane's drool soaking into his pillow!

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Lance scrambled backward, banging his head against the dresser. "Ow! Fuck!"

The noise was enough to rouse Keith from his sleep. He looked around groggily for a moment, before his sleep-blurred eyes settled on Lance and in a reaction that was impressive for early-ish on January 1st, they suddenly cleared, and the frown was back.

"What the fuck?!" He sat up and grabbed at the blanket to pull it over himself. "What the fuck are you doing in my room?!"

Lance gaped in response. "Your room?! This is my room mullet!"

Keith spun on the mattress and looked around. "What the fuck am I doing in your room?"

Lance didn't have an immediate answer to that, as he was adjusting to the news himself. He eventually found enough cognisance to offer some sort of response. "I think we started the New Year with a 'bang'." He added a shaky smile at the end for comic relief.

Keith looked mortified, and he covered his face as he flopped backward onto the pillows. "Nooooooo. Nooooooo."

"Hey, this isn't exactly awesome news for me either. I thought I'd spent the night with someone I could ask out on a date, not someone with a stick up his butt and a serious lack of fashion sense."

"You're one to talk about having a stick up your ass! And if what you wear is what you consider fashion, then I'm glad I'm not trendy!"

 _Oh_ , it was on.

* * *

Hunk Garrett let out a luxuriant yawn as he traipsed out of his bedroom toward the kitchenette of the apartment. He'd been rooming with Lance for about two years now, but they'd been best friends since forever. When the opportunity to pool their money so they could get a place of their own, a place that was more comfortable than their individual financial situations afforded them, they'd jumped at the chance.

He mustered up a broad smile for the third resident of the apartment: Pidge Holt. Hunk and Pidge had met in Hunk's engineering class at the University of Seattle, and had helped Hunk and Lance get an even better class of apartment.

"Hey, Happy New Year!" He greeted tiredly.

"And a new planetary revolution to you." Pidge smirked.

The cuddly bear of a man gave his roommate a once-over glance as he began to grab some items to make his breakfast, their ginger hair was even more wild than usual, and they hadn't even bothered to put on their glasses yet. As he set a frying pan and some ingredients down, he remarked with some suspicion: "You know something I don't."

"I might do." Pidge nodded. "Lance just woke up."

Hunk winced, remembering how much their roommate had been drinking last night. "Ouch."

"Oh, it gets _better_." Pidge chuckled, materialising their glasses from somewhere and perching the item on their nose. "He's just woken up and realised he went to bed with Keith."

"What?!" Hunk gaped. "No! Noooo! How did I miss that?"

Pidge shrugged. "You were passing out on the couch when it happened; by the time Shay helped you to bed they'd stumbled into Lance's bedroom and kicked the door shut."

"Huh." The bandanna-less bandana wearer mulled as he resumed making his breakfast. "What sort of sound did he make?"

"It was like a cross between a startled yelp, and wanting the earth to swallow him up."

"It can't have been _that_ bad."

"Hey, that's what I heard."

As hunk cracked some eggs over a bowl for some pancakes, his expression became thoughtful. "About time with those two."

"Heh, yeah." Pidge agreed.

"How long do you give them?"

His fellow engineering student looked up at him dubiously as he mixed up the batter. "Hunk, they're not going to get together after a drunken night they probably won't properly remember."

"They're meant for each other even if they're too stubborn to see it. Maybe a drunken night together is what they need to finally 'connect the dots'." The dark-skinned man reasoned.

"Shay's made you a hopeless romantic." Pidge smirked.

"Nah, I've always been like this. I got it from _lo'u tina_."

Pidge considered his point, eventually conceding: "Alright, point. So 'Mister hopeless romantic',  
how about a little wager?"

He eyed her apprehensively. "What sorta bet?"

"Twenty five bucks and as many of your pancakes as I can eat for a month that they go back to bickering and pretending they don't have the hots for each other."

He weighed up her wager, he even considered not taking it on.

...But he had to have his BFF's back, so he ploughed in.

"Twenty five dollars… And you do the dishes for a month if they start dating."

Pidge made a face, they hated washing up. "Would you be willing to swap out doing the dishes for doing your laundry?"

Hunk shook his head. "Sorry, but I live with you and I've seen your room... I love you, but I don't trust you with my laundry. It's do the dishes or no bet."

Pidge made a disgruntled noise, but covered it up with a quick cocky smirk. "You drive a hard bargain, but deal. I have faith in their mutual revulsion for each other."

"Deal, and _I_ have faith in the power of love." Hunk agreed, and they shook hands.

"Whatever you say, _Huey Lewis_."

* * *

They'd both heard some raised voices from Lance's room, but soon things had settled down again. Although they generally respected the privacy of their friends, and were trying to be patient to see what state things were in for Keith and Lance, Pidge and Hunk's combined impatience for an answer got the better of them, and with a selection of strawberry pancakes for Lance, and blueberry for Keith, the culinary engineer barged into his roommate's room as politely as possible with Pidge in tow.

"Happy New Year, guys!" Hunk cheered. At the sudden arrival, Lance dove under the covers as he let loose a choice selection of swear words in English and Spanish. Keith, to his credit, simply crossed his arms over his bare chest and perfected his impression of a tomato.

"On second thought, my curiosity was not worth it." Pidge drawled.

"Would you get out?!" Lance's muffled voice issued from underneath the blanket.

"Sure, in a minute." Hunk answered. "I just wanted to bring you guys in a little breakfast. Strawberries for you Lance, Blueberry for Keith, and some orange juice for the both of you."

"...Thanks, bud." Lance's exasperated voice issued from behind his blanket barrier.

"Thanks." Keith huffed.

"And I know this is already kinda awkward, but it's great you guys finally worked things out."

"But it's just a one-time thing, amirite?" Pidge interjected.

Keith wouldn't look the bespectacled engineer in the eye, and Lance went notably quiet in his hiding spot.

After a long minute of awkward silence, the tan-skinned boy asked in a quiet voice: "Can I have some privacy with Keith, please?"

Pidge and Hunk shared a look, and made their way to the door.

"Sure."

"No problem, just shout if the pancakes don't taste good."

In one of his rare moments, Keith let out a breathy laugh and smiled. "I don't think that's possible."

"Yeah!" Lance's muffled answer agreed.

Pidge groaned. "It's the end times, they're agreeing with each other."

Hunk gave Keith and Lance an awkward wave, before he pulled the door closed.

"You're safe now." Keith nudged the lump beside him, and Lance re-emerged from beneath the duvet, his pecan hair looking more dishevelled.

The two men lay there for a spell as they absorbed what had happened.

"Maybe we'll talk about this after we've had breakfast."

* * *

Although they'd begun 2018 with a bit of a bump, they'd eventually started out the New Year fine. For Hunk, he started it out $25 richer and exempt from dish duty for a month. Pidge, to their credit, kept their annoyed grumbling to a bare minimum.


	2. February - 'You're my little valentine'

**February - "You're my little valentine"**

* * *

Lance was cool, Lance was chill. He totally wasn't the victim of a heart that was beating a mile a minute as he climbed the stairs to Keith's apartment. No sir.

He took a minute to compose himself before he knocked on his date's door.

As he prepared himself to greet the other man, he hid the three red roses he'd bought behind his back: he'd wanted to give something to mark his first Valentine's Day with Keith, and whilst a whole bouquet seemed overkill… And something he was worried might overwhelm the black-haired man, three roses felt more tender, and also didn't potentially seem like he'd cheaped out if he'd only bought one.

The roses were crimson, which he felt were in Keith's palette of preference. Lance hoped he'd picked right.

The door opened, and the smile that had been on Lance's face deflated.

Keith was stood there in his familiar ensemble of black jeans, black T-shirt, boots, and his red/white/yellow cropped jacket.

Lance was wearing a royal blue button-down shirt, freshly-polished shoes, and the best suit he happened to own (cut in black wool).

Awkward hesitance washed over Keith as he took in Lance's appearance.

"Why are you dressed like that?"

It took Lance longer to process the question than he'd have liked. "I thought… Didn't I text you to dress nice for tonight?"

Keith's face morphed into a glower. "I _am_ dressed nice."

"There's everyday nice, and then there's _nice_." Lance replied. With a show of steeling himself up, the tanned man grasped Keith by the arm and gently led him back into his apartment.

"What are you doing?" Keith's confusion hung heavy between them.

"Making you more presentable." Lance responded. "Your look's fine for normal stuff, but this is a restaurant we're going to." He set the roses carefully down on a coffee table cluttered with magazines.

"Are those for me?" Keith's indigo eyes lingered on the blooms in distraction.

"In a minute." The tan-skinned man dismissed, he held his chin and sized his date up. "Take off the jacket."

Keith grumbled, but obeyed. He dropped the article on the patched-up couch.

Barely a moment had passed from shedding his jacket, before Lance requested: "Arm." Keith held out his right arm, and he felt the smooth lining of Lance's jacket sliding across his skin. He slipped on the remaining sleeve under his own power, and settled into the foreign garment. Having similar builds, the blazer didn't feel too lose on him.

Lance seemed happier now, but that satisfaction was brief, as he was soon looking analytical again. After a minute of thought, he asked: "Do you have any hair ties?"

"Why do you want a hair tie?"

Lance responded with a flat look.

Keith let out a frustrated sigh. "I think there's some in the bathroom, in the mirror cabinet."

Lance nodded and made his way toward the short hall leading from the apartment's lounge/kitchen combo. "First door on the left." Keith added.

Lance was back within a couple of minutes, a hair tie dangling from one hand and his shirt sleeves rolled up.

"Hold still, this should just take a sec."

Keith was ready for this to be over with. What he was less ready for was how gently Lance's hands worked in plying his hair into something approximating a ponytail. Keith didn't tie his hair up very often, and when he did, he was usually quick and careless about it.

Lance… Lance was careful. He wasn't sure what to do with that information.

All-too quickly, the other man's fingers slipped to his shoulders, and gave the jacket a quick dust off.

"Done." Lance announced, albeit in a voice that sounded a bit more reverent than would normally have come about simply from smartening someone up. The pecan-haired man stepped around to take Keith in, and black-haired man was struck by the look on Lance's face.

Was that the reaction Keith should've inspired when he'd opened the door to Lance?

Finally remembering himself, Lance leant down and plucked the roses up from the table. He took a tick to gather his wits, and applying as confident a smile as he felt in that moment, Lance held out the crimson roses to his date. "For you. Happy Valentine's."

Keith gently accepted the roses, taking his time to look them over. He frowned when he gave them a sniff, and Lance would deny in a court of law that his heart skipped a beat at the sight. "Nobody's gotten me flowers before." Keith remarked. "Thanks. They're… Nice."

The smile on Lance's face seemed less awkward, and it definitely reached his eyes. "I wasn't sure what to get, but they were your colour, so…"

Keith answered with a shaky smile. "I… Um… I'll put them in some water."

Lance watched the other man duck into the kitchen part of the apartment, and in no way did his smile widen when he saw Keith fill up a ceramic mug with water, and settle the roses in them.

* * *

"I honestly can't believe you right now." Keith drawled as Lance held the glass door open for him.

"What? I said we were going to a restaurant."

"Yeah… You just forgot to mention it'd have a giant domino for a logo."

"Okay, Okay, I know… It's not a fancy restaurant. I wish I could take you some place fancy, but I don't make that sort of cash to go on that sort of date… Yet… But when I do, I'll take you out to somewhere really _swanky_." Lance placated. "And this place isn't so bad, I mean… This way I'm not starting you off with a fancy menu that might not have anything you'd like on it."

Keith wanted to keep on pouting… But Lance did have a point.

"Annnnnd…" Lance began to add. "…This means we start things off at the low point, all dates and Valentine's dates from this point are a step above."

"Who says we'll still be seeing each other by next Valentine's?" Keith asked coolly as they neared a short queue at the counter.

"Well…" Lance shrugged, an edge of uncertainty leaked through the wall of confidence he'd built. "…I'm hoping you kinda will, if you want to?"

Keith did his best to give Lance a reassuring smile. The indigo-eyed man was still learning that behind Lance's bravado, there was someone who had more insecurity than he usually let show. "Leave the future to tomorrow…" Keith hesitated. "…Today you're taking me out."

Keith would never be quite sure where that turn had phrase had come from… But he'd be forever grateful that it had the desired effect: Lance broke into a broad grin, and gave a quick nod.

"Yeah! And as you're my little Valentine, you can have anything on the menu!"

Lance burst into unexpected laughter when Keith protested: "I'm not little!"

* * *

Keith went for a large Meatzza Feast and a Sprite; Lance went for the Mediterranean Veggie Sandwich, some breadsticks (which he upgraded with a sachet of sweet mango Habanero sauce) and a cherry Coke.  
For dessert, they got a selection of chocolate chip cookies and baked Churros.

The light of day was fading as Keith and Lance stepped out of Domino's Pizza, the approach of evening had also seen the chilly day grow even colder, making Lance glad that Keith had offered an uncropped black leather jacket in lieu of the loaned suit jacket.

"Thanks. For this." The raven-haired man spoke as he stuck his hands into Lance's suit jacket. His blue-eyed companion shrugged amiably.

"You're worth it, and then some." He scratched his nose, attempting to put on a show of casual ease.

"I never thought I'd have fun at a Domino's Pizza on Rainer Avenue." Keith admitted with a laugh.

"It's all about the company." Lance puffed out his chest.

"I'm sure it was the staff and the ambiance, the company was unremarkable."

Lance put on an air of mock offence. "Ouch! And just when I was thinking of taking you here for our anniversary."

The raven-haired man considered the idea. "I wouldn't hate that."

"What about the swanky restaurant?"

Keith smiled. "We can do that some other time."

They ambled aimlessly for a few minutes, taking in the companionable silence that had been developing between them.

"So I'd actually been planning to do something else with this date after we'd eaten… Did you want to see a movie with me tonight?"

"Sure." Keith shrugged. "I've got some DVDs at my place."

Lance took Keith's hands in his own. "I was thinking of somewhere else. The Ark Lodge has got a few things on tonight."

Keith raised a brow, but seemed receptive to the idea. "What're they showing?"

"Uh…" Lance reluctantly freed one of his hands from Keith's grip, and extracted his phone from his pocket. "They've got _Bride of Chucky_ at eight. _Call Me by Your Name_ at eight-forty-five, or _The Shape of Water_ at seven and nine. Would you like to see any of those?"

" _The Shape of Water_. If… If that's okay?"

Lance returned the question with a casual smirk. "Of course it's okay… I kinda thought it might appeal to your whole 'cryptid ghost hunter' hobby."

Keith pouted. "It's not a hobby; it's just something I did once that Pidge has blown out of proportion."

"Whatever you say, _Dean Winchester_."

Keith remained silent for a moment, and then he got a wicked look in his eye. "Whatever you say _Castiel_."

The silence from Lance stretched on considerably longer as the gears turned. "You ship them, don't you?"

Keith turned away with an exaggerated huff. "I've no idea what you're talking about."

"Hey! I bought you dinner; you could at least tell me your fan fiction screen name!" Lance shouted in amusement. He quickened his pace as Keith began to run in the general direction of the Cinema.

* * *

Keith easily won the race, but he offered a consolation prize to Lance: a kiss on the cheek before the movie started, and another on the lips after the credits had rolled.


	3. March - 'I'm gonna march you down the'

**March - "I'm gonna march you down the aisle"**

* * *

"Cell phone."

Lance patted the pocket of his jeans.

"Yep."

"Keys." He patted the breast pocket of his olive drab jacket.

"Ditto."

"Tickets."

There was a momentary period of panic as he tried to remember where he'd put the tickets for _Black Panther_.

"Shit."

"Just as well you've got me here, buddy." Hunk smiled, the two tickets Lance had made a special effort to get were grasped in his fingerless glove-encased right hand.

The wave of relief that washed over Lance's face was visible from across the room.

"You're a life saver."

Hunk puffed out his chest and adopted a look of supreme heroism. "Nobody asked me to be a hero, I just felt the calling."

"Next time you and Shay are going out, dinner's on me."

"Dude, you seriously don't have to."

"No! No, no no no no no! I _insist_."

"Keith's a lucky guy." Hunk smiled.

"I'm the lucky guy, Keith… I wish I'd seen this side of him sooner."

"While I'd love nothing more to dig a little deeper here, reassure you, and give you plenty of reasons to tell your minor insecurities to get the flip out of here… You need to get going if you're going to get there before him."

"Right!" Lance nodded in agreement. He gave his hair one final sweep, and stood ready for Hunk's honest appraisal. "How do I look?"

"Good. Now go!" Hunk urged.

* * *

Keith was running late. He'd gotten out of work on time, and hadn't messed around in grabbing a shower at his apartment, but the Friday-evening traffic had been lame, and he still had to find a parking spot for his motorcycle. Fortunately there were some parking spots around the corner from the cinema, and by some miracle there was a spot big enough for him to squeeze his 2005 Yamaha YZF-R1 safely into.

After a quick flurry of activity which allowed him to store his helmet, and check his reflection in the window of an interior design store, Keith set off at a brisk walk. As he navigated the turn from South Edmunds Street onto South Rainier Avenue, the glittering marquee of Ark Lodge Cinema came into view.

He found Lance perched against the lamppost outside of the entrance to the cinema, looking chilled, and like he could look that way all day.

Sadly for the image Lance was cultivating, Keith had the effect of demolishing that careful facade.

Although in this case, it could also have been his excitement to see the film. Of the many things Keith hadn't registered when they were rivals/casual acquaintances, but had picked up on now that they were dating, was that Lance loved the movies from the Marvel cinematic universe.

He _really_ loved them.

"Hey. You look great." The blue-eyed man greeted with a broad grin, and Keith's cheeks still had a habit of flushing when Lance greeted him like Keith was the most amazing thing he'd seen.

Which wasn't exactly untrue. Keith might've considered himself pretty average when it came to looks, but Lance was always happy to pay him a compliment, which was an interesting change from when they used to just trade insults at each other.

"Sorry I'm late."

Lance made a dismissive sound and gave Keith's arm a playful nudge. "Don't sweat it; we've still got plenty of time. The trailers before the main feature, y'know?"

"Yeah." Keith nodded. Lance slipped his arm through the crook of the raven-haired man's elbow, and led the both of them through the wood and glass double doors into the lobby of the cinema.

* * *

At four months into their relationship, Keith was starting to get used to getting eagerly dragged around by the walking ball of energy that was his boyfriend. In his enthusiasm for the movie however, the tanned boy was practically marching them down the aisle of the cinema towards their seats.

"Whoa, okay, ease up on the arm there."

Lance glanced over his shoulder and threw Keith an apologetic look a moment later. "Sorry."

They settled into their seats as the auditorium continued to fill up, and they took the time before the lights dimmed to sort through their food, Lance had opted for popcorn and a soda, Keith had gone for a hotdog with ketchup and mustard.

"So where does this film take place compared to the others?"

"Mmmm!" Lance hummed around a taste-tester mouthful of popcorn. "This is probably about two years… Or so… After _Civil War_ , _Age of Ultron_ and _Doctor Strange_ , and probably happens less than half a year before _Thor: Ragnarok_. It's all kinda vague, and Homecoming kinda screws up the timeline… So maybe ask me again after _Infinity War_ … Which is supposed to take place this year." Lance chuckled.

"Okay…" Keith let Lance's explanation settle in. "Why have they made it so complicated?"

"I think they might've lost track as each film's been written." Lance shrugged. "It could be worse, there's always the Clone Saga, or Crisis on Infinite Earths."

"Do I want to know?"

Lance weighed the question. "Probably not."

The lights dimmed as a musical jingle began to play over the speakers. On the screen, animated food and drinks began to dance up a painted backdrop of a cinema aisle.

 _" Let's all go to the lobby  
Let's all go to the lobby  
Let's all go to the lobby to get ourselves a treat… "_

* * *

Two hours (and forty minutes) later, Lance and Keith exited the cinema, the former riding the buzz of the film: he'd enjoyed it greatly.

"That was so much better than _Civil War_." The taller man beamed.

"It wasn't bad." Keith shrugged with a smirk.

"And I loved how they wove that African vibe through the music and the visual design… They made this film feel… tonally… Is 'tonal' the word? They made it feel tonally different from the other Marvel films, like it'd come from another country… And I guess that was kinda the point…" Keith let out a short laugh; Lance had reached the point where he needed to pause for breath. "What was your favourite bit?"

"There were a couple." The indigo-eyed man mused. "When Okoye and the regiment were fighting W'Kabi's clan, the casino fight, and the end credits were pretty neat."

"Yeah." Lance nodded. "And the armoured Rhinos were pretty badass."

They ambled aimlessly under the awning of the cinema as they let the film sink in a little more.

"I want to see more of Bucky actually being a hero, now that he's better… Up there." Keith mused, indicating his head. "He better get to kick some ass as the Winter Soldier in _Infinity War_ , and no disappearing for movie years afterwards."

"Yeah." Lance agreed. "Though I can't think why he'd be one of your favourite characters…" His face split into a wicked grin. "Dark, brooding, long hair…"

Keith pouted. "Shut up."

"Make me." He grinned.

And Keith did just that, with his lips.

They eventually had to break the kiss, but they continued to keep their arms wrapped around each other for some time afterward.

"What do you want to do now?"

Keith gave a constricted shrug in Lance's embrace. "Dinner?"

"Sounds good." The blue-eyed man agreed. "Fancy Domino's again?"

The other man frowned. "Maybe another night?" Keith admitted. Still in Lance's hug, he awkwardly extracted his phone from his pocket and brought up Google Maps. "Google says there's a Sicilian place, Caribbean-southern, Mexican… A bar and grill…"

Lance's brows rose as at one of the suggestions. "What about the Caribbean-southern place?"

"Sure." Keith smiled, and reluctant as he was to break their hug, he shifted to walk arm-in-arm with Lance at a generous place along Rainier Avenue South, checking the location of the restaurant as they went.

* * *

'Caribbean-southern' turned out to be _Island Soul_ , a combined rum bar and soul shack a couple of blocks from the cinema.  
The restaurant was based in a converted shop unit, and laid out in a ratio of three-quarters dining space to one quarter bar area. The decor was Caribbean-inspired hues and paintings hung in the dining area, and flat screen televisions broadcasting sports events to the patrons at the bar.

"Good evening." The waitress/greeter smiled. "Table for two?"

"Please." Keith nodded, and they were led over to a table nestled under a triptych of paintings depicting a dreadlocked man, playing a guitar on a beach. As they settled in their seats and took a quick glance over the menu, the waitress/greeter primed a pen and notepad.

"Would you like to place your drink orders?"

"Uh." Keith blanked; he flipped the menu over to find the drink list. "Could I get a diet Pepsi?"

"Sure." The waitress smiled, and she turned to Lance. "And you, sir?"

"Lemonade, please."

The waitress jotted their selections down. "I'll give you guys a couple of minutes."

Keith stared at the menu, unsure where to start. "You ever have Caribbean food before?"

"Nope." Lance responded brightly as he considered what the restaurant had to offer.

Keith blinked. "Then why did you choose this place?"

The other teenager shrugged with a smirk. "Because I've never had it before, figured it never hurt to try new things."

Keith wanted to pout, but he reluctantly conceded the point. "Guess I'll have the Calypso Wings."

* * *

The Calypso Wings had looked pretty appetising, though they'd proven to be spicier than Keith had been expecting due to the mango sauce. Lance had opted for the Habanero Prawns, which been alright, but not as special as he'd been hoping.

"Next time, I'll try the Seafood Fritters."

"You want me to risk burning my mouth here again?" Keith smirked.

"Yeah." Lance chuckled. "The atmosphere's good, and it's not far if we're catching a movie."

They settled into a companionable silence as they lounged in the afterglow of their meal. The dull rumble of the basketball game that'd been playing when they'd arrived had been replaced with the higher, uneven roar of a baseball game, although the soundtrack of evening conversation and broadcasted reggae music had remained consistent through dinner.

Keith idly flipped the menu over; scanning his eyes across what else was available. It didn't seem that there were any dessert options.

"Did you want to get desert or something?" Keith ventured.

"Yeah, what have they got?"

His boyfriend flipped the menu so Lance could see it for himself. "Nothing."

The pecan-haired boy deflated for a moment.

"There is that place back by the cinema… And we'd have to walk that way anyway so I can get my bike."

"It still open?"

Keith checked the listing on his phone. "They don't close for another couple of hours."

Lance grinned. "Lead the way, samurai."

* * *

 _Molly Moon's Homemade Ice Cream_ was a chain that wouldn't quite fit into the idea of a traditional ice cream parlour, there were familiar and more exotic flavours, and the decor was generally streamlined, resembling something closer to the coffee chains that populated Seattle. Some branches of _Molly Moon's_ even sold clothing.

Lance had decided to go with Original Strawberry, whilst Keith, who was a mint fiend, selected 'Scout' Mint from the menu.

As they took their first licks from their respective cones, they moseyed over to bench sat in front of the cinema. Lance had been content to enjoy his dessert in a friendly silence for a while, but a thought occurred to him, and he broke the quiet to ask:

"Would… Would you like to join me and my family for Easter Sunday?"

Keith's mind seemed to jump the tracks for a moment as he processed Lance's question.

"Why?"

"Well… They haven't properly met you other than the few times you came over before we started seeing each other… I'd like them to get to know you better, that way I can make it official: introduce you as my boyfriend."

"Oh." The other man realized. "Okay."

"You don't have to do it, I… Um… I don't have to if you're not okay with it."

Keith gave him a fond smile, something that Lance was still happily getting used to with his former rival. "I can do it. I'd like to do it."

"Great… Great." Lance beamed. Without another moment's thought, he leant over and kissed Keith on the lips.

"You're melting." Keith remarked after a moment.

"I can't help it, you make me melt." Lance returned.

"No, I mean your ice cream's melting onto your jeans."

"Quiznak!"

 **March - "I'm gonna march you down the aisle"**

* * *

"Cell phone."

Lance patted the pocket of his jeans.

"Yep."

"Keys." He patted the breast pocket of his olive drab jacket.

"Ditto."

"Tickets."

There was a momentary period of panic as he tried to remember where he'd put the tickets for _Black Panther_.

"Shit."

"Just as well you've got me here, buddy." Hunk smiled, the two tickets Lance had made a special effort to get were grasped in his fingerless glove-encased right hand.

The wave of relief that washed over Lance's face was visible from across the room.

"You're a life saver."

Hunk puffed out his chest and adopted a look of supreme heroism. "Nobody asked me to be a hero, I just felt the calling."

"Next time you and Shay are going out, dinner's on me."

"Dude, you seriously don't have to."

"No! No, no no no no no! I _insist_."

"Keith's a lucky guy." Hunk smiled.

"I'm the lucky guy, Keith… I wish I'd seen this side of him sooner."

"While I'd love nothing more to dig a little deeper here, reassure you, and give you plenty of reasons to tell your minor insecurities to get the flip out of here… You need to get going if you're going to get there before him."

"Right!" Lance nodded in agreement. He gave his hair one final sweep, and stood ready for Hunk's honest appraisal. "How do I look?"

"Good. Now go!" Hunk urged.

* * *

Keith was running late. He'd gotten out of work on time, and hadn't messed around in grabbing a shower at his apartment, but the Friday-evening traffic had been lame, and he still had to find a parking spot for his motorcycle. Fortunately there were some parking spots around the corner from the cinema, and by some miracle there was a spot big enough for him to squeeze his 2005 Yamaha YZF-R1 safely into.

After a quick flurry of activity which allowed him to store his helmet, and check his reflection in the window of an interior design store, Keith set off at a brisk walk. As he navigated the turn from South Edmunds Street onto South Rainier Avenue, the glittering marquee of Ark Lodge Cinema came into view.

He found Lance perched against the lamppost outside of the entrance to the cinema, looking chilled, and like he could look that way all day.

Sadly for the image Lance was cultivating, Keith had the effect of demolishing that careful facade.

Although in this case, it could also have been his excitement to see the film. Of the many things Keith hadn't registered when they were rivals/casual acquaintances, but had picked up on now that they were dating, was that Lance loved the movies from the Marvel cinematic universe.

He _really_ loved them.

"Hey. You look great." The blue-eyed man greeted with a broad grin, and Keith's cheeks still had a habit of flushing when Lance greeted him like Keith was the most amazing thing he'd seen.

Which wasn't exactly untrue. Keith might've considered himself pretty average when it came to looks, but Lance was always happy to pay him a compliment, which was an interesting change from when they used to just trade insults at each other.

"Sorry I'm late."

Lance made a dismissive sound and gave Keith's arm a playful nudge. "Don't sweat it; we've still got plenty of time. The trailers before the main feature, y'know?"

"Yeah." Keith nodded. Lance slipped his arm through the crook of the raven-haired man's elbow, and led the both of them through the wood and glass double doors into the lobby of the cinema.

* * *

At four months into their relationship, Keith was starting to get used to getting eagerly dragged around by the walking ball of energy that was his boyfriend. In his enthusiasm for the movie however, the tanned boy was practically marching them down the aisle of the cinema towards their seats.

"Whoa, okay, ease up on the arm there."

Lance glanced over his shoulder and threw Keith an apologetic look a moment later. "Sorry."

They settled into their seats as the auditorium continued to fill up, and they took the time before the lights dimmed to sort through their food, Lance had opted for popcorn and a soda, Keith had gone for a hotdog with ketchup and mustard.

"So where does this film take place compared to the others?"

"Mmmm!" Lance hummed around a taste-tester mouthful of popcorn. "This is probably about two years… Or so… After _Civil War_ , _Age of Ultron_ and _Doctor Strange_ , and probably happens less than half a year before _Thor: Ragnarok_. It's all kinda vague, and Homecoming kinda screws up the timeline… So maybe ask me again after _Infinity War_ … Which is supposed to take place this year." Lance chuckled.

"Okay…" Keith let Lance's explanation settle in. "Why have they made it so complicated?"

"I think they might've lost track as each film's been written." Lance shrugged. "It could be worse, there's always the Clone Saga, or Crisis on Infinite Earths."

"Do I want to know?"

Lance weighed the question. "Probably not."

The lights dimmed as a musical jingle began to play over the speakers. On the screen, animated food and drinks began to dance up a painted backdrop of a cinema aisle.

 _" Let's all go to the lobby  
Let's all go to the lobby  
Let's all go to the lobby to get ourselves a treat… "_

* * *

Two hours (and forty minutes) later, Lance and Keith exited the cinema, the former riding the buzz of the film: he'd enjoyed it greatly.

"That was so much better than _Civil War_." The taller man beamed.

"It wasn't bad." Keith shrugged with a smirk.

"And I loved how they wove that African vibe through the music and the visual design… They made this film feel… tonally… Is 'tonal' the word? They made it feel tonally different from the other Marvel films, like it'd come from another country… And I guess that was kinda the point…" Keith let out a short laugh; Lance had reached the point where he needed to pause for breath. "What was your favourite bit?"

"There were a couple." The indigo-eyed man mused. "When Okoye and the regiment were fighting W'Kabi's clan, the casino fight, and the end credits were pretty neat."

"Yeah." Lance nodded. "And the armoured Rhinos were pretty badass."

They ambled aimlessly under the awning of the cinema as they let the film sink in a little more.

"I want to see more of Bucky actually being a hero, now that he's better… Up there." Keith mused, indicating his head. "He better get to kick some ass as the Winter Soldier in _Infinity War_ , and no disappearing for movie years afterwards."

"Yeah." Lance agreed. "Though I can't think why he'd be one of your favourite characters…" His face split into a wicked grin. "Dark, brooding, long hair…"

Keith pouted. "Shut up."

"Make me." He grinned.

And Keith did just that, with his lips.

They eventually had to break the kiss, but they continued to keep their arms wrapped around each other for some time afterward.

"What do you want to do now?"

Keith gave a constricted shrug in Lance's embrace. "Dinner?"

"Sounds good." The blue-eyed man agreed. "Fancy Domino's again?"

The other man frowned. "Maybe another night?" Keith admitted. Still in Lance's hug, he awkwardly extracted his phone from his pocket and brought up Google Maps. "Google says there's a Sicilian place, Caribbean-southern, Mexican… A bar and grill…"

Lance's brows rose as at one of the suggestions. "What about the Caribbean-southern place?"

"Sure." Keith smiled, and reluctant as he was to break their hug, he shifted to walk arm-in-arm with Lance at a generous place along Rainier Avenue South, checking the location of the restaurant as they went.

* * *

'Caribbean-southern' turned out to be _Island Soul_ , a combined rum bar and soul shack a couple of blocks from the cinema.  
The restaurant was based in a converted shop unit, and laid out in a ratio of three-quarters dining space to one quarter bar area. The decor was Caribbean-inspired hues and paintings hung in the dining area, and flat screen televisions broadcasting sports events to the patrons at the bar.

"Good evening." The waitress/greeter smiled. "Table for two?"

"Please." Keith nodded, and they were led over to a table nestled under a triptych of paintings depicting a dreadlocked man, playing a guitar on a beach. As they settled in their seats and took a quick glance over the menu, the waitress/greeter primed a pen and notepad.

"Would you like to place your drink orders?"

"Uh." Keith blanked; he flipped the menu over to find the drink list. "Could I get a diet Pepsi?"

"Sure." The waitress smiled, and she turned to Lance. "And you, sir?"

"Lemonade, please."

The waitress jotted their selections down. "I'll give you guys a couple of minutes."

Keith stared at the menu, unsure where to start. "You ever have Caribbean food before?"

"Nope." Lance responded brightly as he considered what the restaurant had to offer.

Keith blinked. "Then why did you choose this place?"

The other teenager shrugged with a smirk. "Because I've never had it before, figured it never hurt to try new things."

Keith wanted to pout, but he reluctantly conceded the point. "Guess I'll have the Calypso Wings."

* * *

The Calypso Wings had looked pretty appetising, though they'd proven to be spicier than Keith had been expecting due to the mango sauce. Lance had opted for the Habanero Prawns, which been alright, but not as special as he'd been hoping.

"Next time, I'll try the Seafood Fritters."

"You want me to risk burning my mouth here again?" Keith smirked.

"Yeah." Lance chuckled. "The atmosphere's good, and it's not far if we're catching a movie."

They settled into a companionable silence as they lounged in the afterglow of their meal. The dull rumble of the basketball game that'd been playing when they'd arrived had been replaced with the higher, uneven roar of a baseball game, although the soundtrack of evening conversation and broadcasted reggae music had remained consistent through dinner.

Keith idly flipped the menu over; scanning his eyes across what else was available. It didn't seem that there were any dessert options.

"Did you want to get desert or something?" Keith ventured.

"Yeah, what have they got?"

His boyfriend flipped the menu so Lance could see it for himself. "Nothing."

The pecan-haired boy deflated for a moment.

"There is that place back by the cinema… And we'd have to walk that way anyway so I can get my bike."

"It still open?"

Keith checked the listing on his phone. "They don't close for another couple of hours."

Lance grinned. "Lead the way, samurai."

* * *

 _Molly Moon's Homemade Ice Cream_ was a chain that wouldn't quite fit into the idea of a traditional ice cream parlour, there were familiar and more exotic flavours, and the decor was generally streamlined, resembling something closer to the coffee chains that populated Seattle. Some branches of _Molly Moon's_ even sold clothing.

Lance had decided to go with Original Strawberry, whilst Keith, who was a mint fiend, selected 'Scout' Mint from the menu.

As they took their first licks from their respective cones, they moseyed over to bench sat in front of the cinema. Lance had been content to enjoy his dessert in a friendly silence for a while, but a thought occurred to him, and he broke the quiet to ask:

"Would… Would you like to join me and my family for Easter Sunday?"

Keith's mind seemed to jump the tracks for a moment as he processed Lance's question.

"Why?"

"Well… They haven't properly met you other than the few times you came over before we started seeing each other… I'd like them to get to know you better, that way I can make it official: introduce you as my boyfriend."

"Oh." The other man realized. "Okay."

"You don't have to do it, I… Um… I don't have to if you're not okay with it."

Keith gave him a fond smile, something that Lance was still happily getting used to with his former rival. "I can do it. I'd like to do it."

"Great… Great." Lance beamed. Without another moment's thought, he leant over and kissed Keith on the lips.

"You're melting." Keith remarked after a moment.

"I can't help it, you make me melt." Lance returned.

"No, I mean your ice cream's melting onto your jeans."

"Quiznak!"


	4. April - 'You're the Easter Bunny When'

This was happening. This was _definitely_ happening. Keith was going to have Easter lunch with Lance's family, and he was going to tell them that he and Keith were dating.

Why did he feel so nervous about this? He'd met them before, they were nice people.

His phone chimed as he walked up the sidewalk to the house owned by the McClains.

 **Hope you have a good time**  
 **at Lance's; I'm here if you**  
 **need me. Happy Easter.**

 **Thanks, Shiro. Have a good Easter.**

He slipped his phone back into his pocket and made a beeline for the front door. He took a moment to check himself over before he rang the buzzer, between it being a religious holiday for some and wanting to make a good impression, Keith had dressed in smart black trousers, a red button-down shirt, and he'd tied his hair into a short ponytail.

Steeling himself for the oncoming emotional ride, he took a deep breath and exhaled.

The door was opened by a large guy wearing a smart ensemble that seemed ill-fitting on him. Lance's brother Luiz shared the same shade of skin, and pecan-coloured hair (complete with matching goatee), but unlike his youngest brother, he was larger and stockier in frame and build.

"Keith!" Luiz smiled in greeting. "Good timing, Lunch is almost out."

"Hey, good to see you, Luiz." The raven-haired man greeted in return as he was let into the front hall of the house. "How's Veronica?"

Luiz beamed at the mention of his sister. "She's good, missing us horribly because of her deployment, but she says she's getting along fine. She's hoping to have leave for the _fourth_."

Keith nodded in understanding, Lance had mentioned at some point in the past that she was deployed overseas on the _USS Wasp_. "I need to help Aba in the kitchen; I think Lance is with Rachel in the living room."

Keith watched Lance's brother disappear, before he moved on to the doorway to the living room.

The living room was in a state of controlled chaos, overseeing the anarchy was Rachel McClain. Like Lance and Luiz, they shared the same golden shade of skin and pecan hair, and unlike Luiz, she and Lance were similarly skinny in physique. She let out a similar laugh to her brother as she watched what was going down on the living room rug.

Lance was sprawled on his back, being tickled to death by his nephew Silvio, his niece Nadia, and Blanco, their black Labrador.

In truth, Keith was quite happy to leave Lance lying there in torment by his respective family members, but the instant the other young man spotted his boyfriend by the door, he broke into a smile and sat up. After a few minutes of apologising to the youngest members of the McClain clan, and profusely promising he'd play with them more later, he ambled over to greet Keith.

"Hey." He smiled, although he hovered a little awkwardly. It was obvious he wanted to give Keith a hug, but he was also making an effort to keep things _rated G for General Audience_ s until he'd had a chance to talk to his family. "You look good." He whispered.

"You too." Keith returned with a smile. Lance was wearing black trousers, and a dark grey and white jumper over a untucked blue button-down shirt. Keith had learned over the past four months that Lance made an effort to dress up for family occasions and holidays.

"Keith! Happy Easter!" Rachel called from the couch. Silvio, Nadia and Blanco were now playing between themselves on the rug.

"Hey, Rachel. Happy Easter" He greeted with a half-smile as he and Lance approached. "How're you?" There were times Keith wished he was better at small talk.

"I'm good, thanks. The magazine internship I'm on is challenging… But I'm enjoying it."

"She's playing it down." Lance interjected. "There's talk they'll be taking her on full-time."

"They're thinking of taking me on, or the other intern." She elaborated. "Things going well for you?"

"The same, I guess? Still working at the shop with my brother."

"Still enjoying it?"

Keith shrugged. "Sure."

She nodded. "Well, I hope we get to see a bit more of you around here. Lance has brought Hunk and Pidge over so often it only seems fair you get to do the same."

Keith and Lance shared a look between each other. "You guys probably will be seeing a bit more of Keith in the near future…"

* * *

The talk had been quiet, and hesitant, but it'd gone well. Rachel was officially the first member of Lance's family to know that he and Keith were dating, and she gave him an affectionate sisterly smile as she hugged him.

"I'm so proud of you." She whispered to him. She then turned to Keith. "I'm happy for you guys."

They'd considered whether they should tell Silvio and Nadia, seeing as they were in the same room, but it seemed that the children had completely missed the change in tone in the conversation… They'd been far more occupied with playing with Blanco, who was happy to lap up the attention.

"Okay, anyone not seen carrying a plate in the next ten seconds will not be fed." A voice called from the kitchen, and the formidable presence of Lance's maternal grandmother materialised at the doorway, clutching a bowl of chicken and rice.

Her hair had lost its shade to the snowy white of age and wisdom, and her blue eyes were nestled behind a pair of oval eyeglasses. Whilst the majority of her family were wearing blues or greens, she preferred shades of burgundy and lilac in her skirt and cardigan.

Of the various gathered members of the McClain family, she was by far the shortest of all the adults, and yet her short frame contained a considerable personality that had put a respective fear in every child to come after her.

It wasn't a fear of physical or emotional abuse; it was a fear of having one's ear talked off until you did what she felt was right. And as fearful as she could be when the situation required it, she could also be the most loving woman you could meet who didn't happen to be your own mother.

And she loved to have guests.

"You must be Lance's friend, Keith?"

He nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"It's lovely to have you here." She smiled in greeting. "Would you be a dear and put this on the table for me?"

Lance fired Keith a knowing look, but kept his mouth shut in a tight smile. "I'd be happy to." He then settled the bowl of chicken and rice on the table set up in the the space that doubled as the dining room, homework area, and computer room (as Lance had explained it).

As Keith took a glance over the meal that was being assembled on the daffodil-yellow tablecloth, Lance whispered into his ear as he began to set the cutlery. "She must like you, only the very special are trusted to carry Meemaw's cooking to the table."

Keith smirked in response. "Guess you're not that special, huh?"

Lance glowered. "I have forks and I'm not afraid to use them."

* * *

In addition to the chicken and rice (Also known as _Arroz con Pollo_ ), Easter lunch had also featured carrots, broccoli, croquets, tomatoes, avocado and onion salad, and Plantain Chips.

With everyone gathered at the table, Lance's grandmother smiled and addressed the gathered McClains, plus guest.

" _Salud, buen provecho!_ "

"'Health, _bon appétit_ '." Lance translated in whisper, to Keith's gratitude. The meal itself took on something similar to a self-serve buffet, with diners free to take as little or as much from the offered bowls and plates. As each dish and offering rotated clockwise around the table, Lance made recommendations as he loaded his own plate.

As the most senior and honoured member of the family, Lance's grandmother was sat at the head of the dining table, with Keith immediately to her right, and Lance sat to Keith's right. Across from Keith and Lance was Lance's mother Daniela, who was lighter in skin tone, but shared the same shade of pecan hair and eyes with her son. To Daniela's left was Lance's paternal grandfather, Nicolás, followed by Luiz and his wife, Lisa.

Rachel was sat at the foot of the table, with Nadia and Silvio sat to her left and Lance's right.

Of those gathered at the table, Nicolás had the most prominent facial hair, something that was playfully pointed out by himself as compensation for his widow's peak.

The children chattered excitedly between mouthfuls of food from their spiritual homeland, whilst the adults caught up with how their respective relations were getting along, including Lance's brother Marco, who was had videocalled the family earlier in the day to send his greetings whilst travelling on his gap year.

Inevitably the conversation turned to Keith.

"It's lovely having you here, Keith." Daniela smiled warmly. "Are you finding everything okay?"

Keith nodded with a smile as he swallowed his food. "It's delicious, thank you Mrs. McClain… And Mrs. Lozano." He thanked both Lance's mother and grandmother respectively.

Julieta Lozano beamed from her chair. "Polite and well-mannered, this one's a keeper." Lance quickly glanced towards his grandmother; Keith just caught the panicked look before he masked it.

"A 'keeper', Meemaw?"

"A friend not to let go of, like the boy with the bandanna, and the small one with the glasses."

Lance gave more of a relieved smile. "Yeah, he's as good a friend as Hunk and Pidge."

"You're welcome here any time." Daniela invited.

"Thank you, Mrs. McClain." Keith smiled.

* * *

The end of Easter lunch was topped off with _Arroz con Leche_ , and a round of sponge cakes that looked like shells, which Lance explained were called 'Madeleine'. Lance's mother and Grandmother conversed contentedly as Daniela's children tidied away the remains of lunch. Lance was in the midst of leading Keith towards the living room, where the rest of his family were settling, when a polite cough caught their attention.

"Lance? Could I borrow you for a moment? Mamá would like to speak with you."

The casual smile on Lance's face shifted to a surprised frown. He turned back to Keith. "You might as well join the others, I'll-"

"She'd like to talk with Keith as well."

The two young men shared a concerned look, before they returned to the dining room with Lance's mother at their side.

* * *

Julieta Lozano was sat comfortably in her chair, sipping a ruby-coloured drink with ice, which Keith later learned was _Agua de Jamaica_. The afternoon sunlight streaming in from the window seemed to make her glow, and Keith was suddenly reminded of the scene with Marlon Brando from _The Godfather_. The young men each sat down to Julieta's right, while Daniela sat opposite, on her mother's left.

The white-haired woman smiled warmly as they took their seats. "I promise this won't take long, I just wanted to satisfy my curiosity."

Lance looked between his mother and his grandmother. "Sure." He responded hesitantly.

"How long have you been seeing this lovely young man, Lance?"

Lance's eyes widened, and incriminatingly darted to look at Keith before he returned his gaze to his grandmother. Keith stiffened in his chair.

"I… Uh…" The youngest McClain in the room stumbled. "We've…" He breathed out to calm his nerves. "We've been friends for about three years, but we've only been _more than friends_ since January." After a moment he then asked: "How did you know? Did Rachel tell you?"

Julieta reached out and squeezed his hand affectionately. "Rachel kept your confidence. There was something in the way you looked at him; it reminded me of how your _Belo_ used to look at me." She explained. She then turned her attention to Keith. "Is he treating you well?"

Lance turned to face Keith, and Daniela looked on with interest. The black-haired man shifted consciously in his seat. "Lance… Lance has had more patience for me then I think I deserve. I haven't had as much relationship experience as him."

Julieta nodded in understanding. "Do you feel the same way for my grandson as he clearly feels for you?"

Keith let his gaze linger on Lance. He smiled as he answered. "Yeah. I think so."

Julieta nodded. "And what are your intentions for my grandson?"

Lance blanched again, and his mother turned a flat look on her mother. "Mamá!"

Julieta raised her hands in defence. "He is my favourite grandson, and he has had his heart broken too many times… I just want to make sure that Keith won't hurt him like he has been hurt before. Is that right, Keith?"

Lance would've laughed at the _deer in the headlights_ look on Keith's face, were he not have responded in kind if asked the same thing. "Yes ma'am."

Lance licked his lips and interjected: "Keith wouldn't do that to me."

Julieta's gaze shifted to Keith.

"Lance is… He's the first proper relationship I've had, and I care a lot about him. More than I have the words for." He admitted. Beneath the surface of the table, Lance's hand snaked to encompass Keith's.

Julieta considered what Keith had said like an appraiser judging the authenticity of a necklace. Eventually she shone with that brazier of affection. "Then that's all that matters."

She took another sip from her drink, and rose to stand. Lance, Keith and Daniela followed suit, and Lance's grandmother moved around the table to approach her grandson and his boyfriend. She took a hand from each of them in hers. " _Toda mi felicidad y suerte para ustedes dos_." She smiled.

* * *

Keith and Lance were sat on a wrought-iron bench that stood on the brick-paved patio at the back of the house, sitting in satisfied comfort and staring out across the backyard. As the afternoon had progressed, they'd told each relation in turn about their relationship. With some consultation with Lance's mother, Lisa and Luiz, they explained their relationship to Silvio and Nadia.

Now that the sun was setting, and Luiz's family had ventured home for the day, things were starting to quieten down.

"Easter isn't usually this dramatic." Lance admitted.

"I'll take your word for it."

"But… I'm glad you were there with me."

The black-haired man gave him a small smile. "Thanks for the hand thing… When she was asking me."

Lance pressed a soft kiss against Keith's lips. "Anytime."

Keith thought back a little more on the post-lunch talk. "What did your grandmother say? That Spanish phrase?"

"It's kinda a personal blessing of hers. It's something like 'All my happiness and luck to you'."

Keith reflected on that with a smile. He suddenly began to dig a hand into his trouser pocket, as if he'd suddenly remembered something urgent. "I meant to give this to you earlier, sorry if it's a bit melted now." It was a small Easter egg, wrapped in shiny blue paper.

"Babe. You didn't have to." Lance remarked as he accepted the gift. "But thanks."

"No problem." Keith shrugged.

"So does this make you the Easter Bunny?"

Keith scrunched up his nose. "Not really."

"But I can call you 'bunny' now; would you deny me such a cute pet name for you?"

"Yes." Keith said matter-of-factly. "Besides, you're more like the Easter Bunny when you smile."

Lance weight up the point. "Fine." He shrugged, and he placed another kiss on his boyfriend's lips.

He valiantly tried to unwrap the egg with just one hand, but after a while and a roll of his eyes, Keith took pity on his boyfriend and helped him unwrap the chocolate treat.


	5. May - 'Maybe if I ask your dad and mom'

**May - "Maybe if I ask your dad and mom…"**

* * *

"Best movie of the year so far?"

"I don't think that's really a fair question, we're only in May." Shiro remarked.

"I agree with Shiro." Allura noted. "But, if I had to choose… I believe _Love, Simon_ would be my favourite so far."

"Fair point, an excellent pick." Lance noted. He'd seen _Love, Simon_ with Keith, Pidge, Hunk, Shiro, and Allura when it'd first come out, and his date and his date's brother had been the only ones not reduced to tears by the film, although Lance was sure Shiro had at least looked misty-eyed.

" _Rampage_." Pidge stated simply, to the amusement of some, and disapproval of others.

Hunk held up his hands. "I'll be the first to admit it was fun, but the best movie of the year so far?" He questioned.

"It was fun, it had lots of stuff getting smashed up, and it had the Rock. The Rock is always awesome." Pidge countered.

Hunk held up his hands. "I'll be the first to admit it was fun, but the best movie of the year so far?" He questioned.

"It was fun, it had lots of stuff getting smashed up, and it had the Rock. The Rock is always awesome." Pidge countered.

Lance suddenly developed a bout of exaggerated coughing. " _Tooth Fairy_. _Witch Mountain_. _Scorpion King_."

"The Rock is always awesome in whatever he's in, even if it's a turkey. And _Scorpion King_ is cinematic gold compared to _Tomb of the Dragon Emperor_."

Lance looked like he was about to object, but the words died in his voice. "Point." He relented.

" _Black Panther_." Hunk offered. "For the obvious reasons."

Lance pointed a finger towards him in agreement. "Good one, definitely the best of the year for me up until _Infinity War_."

"I'm not sure I'd say _Infinity War_ was the best of the year… Most of it was action with a bit of plot." Shiro hesitantly ventured.

Lance looked scandalised. Keith leaned in with a cautious whisper: "Please don't murder my brother."

Lance glanced at Keith, and his expression softened. "Because I otherwise love Shiro as much as a friend can, and because he's your brother, I will overlook this slander." Blue eyes shifted towards Shiro. "What's your favourite movie of the year? _So far_?"

"Maybe _The Death of Stalin_ … Although I also really liked _Ready Player One_."

Lance made an exaggerated show of flopping back on Hunk's sofa. "There's been too many good films this year. It's too hard to choose." He looked up at Keith. "What's your favourite movie so far?"

His boyfriend shrugged. " _Ready Player One_."

The tanned man glowered. "You're just saying that because they had the red lion from _Voltron_ in it."

"And a Gundam. And _Serenity_ from _Firefly_." The raven-haired man pointed out. He leaned back on the sofa and his significant other with a look that approximated inquisitive. "What was your favourite movie?"

" _Infinity War_." Lance replied matter-of-factly. A few moments later he brightened, and sat bolt-upright. "Worst film of the year so far?"

" _Hurricane Heist_." Shiro ventured, to universal agreement.

* * *

The group continued to saunter along the topics of films until the door buzzer rang: their dinner of Domino's Pizza had arrived.

Shiro and Allura were sat on the floor of Hunk's living room, using the engineer's coffee table as a convenient lowered dining table. Lance and Keith were sharing the sofa, with the boxes containing their foot nestled in their laps. Hunk was perched in his favourite armchair, making a few choice trades and experimental combinations with Pidge, who sat on the floor, with their back against the side of the armchair. There was an air of affable fellowship as the group dined, and the conversation wavered in and out as the friends focussed on their menu selections.

Hunk wiped away a dollop of his Four Cheese Shrimp Scampi that had gathered on his lips and cheek. "So what are you guys doing tomorrow night?" He directed towards Lance and Keith.

Lance swallowed the bite of his Mediterranean Veggie Sandwich he'd been savouring. "We're gonna go see _Deadpool Two_ , and then maybe grab dinner afterwards."

Hunk smiled approvingly. "Nice. Pidge and I are going to be going early next week. Let me know if it's any good… Just… You know? Without the spoilers."

Lance fired off a mock-salute. "Ten-Four, good buddy."

"And then there's _Ant-Man and the Wasp_ in a couple of months." Pidge interjected, between mouthfuls of their New Yorker.

Lance's expression shifted to excitement. "Did you see the latest trailer?"

Pidge smiled smugly at him. "Before it hit the internet, thanks to my sources."

Keith was quietly watching the discussion, a discreetly amused expression on his face. Allura and Shiro shared a smile.

"They really complement each other." She whispered to her boyfriend.

He hummed his affirmation. "He helps Lance's self-esteem and confidence, and Lance puts the breaks on some of Keith's more impulsive ideas. I think he also helps Keith with some of the things he used to struggle to understand."

She nodded in agreement.

The indigo-eyed man turned to look at them, for a moment they both independently thought he'd somehow heard what they'd said.

"What are you guys talking about?"

Allura was the quicker of the two to recover: "I was just giving Shiro a few ideas about what we'll be getting up to after dinner tonight."

Keith made a face and turned back to Lance, Pidge and Hunk's spirited conversation on the movies of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. "Thanks for the visual. And you say the PDAs Lance has with me are over the top."

Shiro shared a conspiratorial chuckle with Allura, before they went back to watching the spirited conversation taking place on the far side of the coffee table.

* * *

Lance was still laughing as they exited Ark Lodge Cinemas, and the amusement from the film had been infectious enough to leave him with an amused smirk. Most of the audience (including Lance) had been laughing from the start of James Bond-style parody title sequence, up until the blood red:

 _ **DEADPOOL 2**_

-had appeared on the screen, and whilst he thought the first film was better, the raven-haired man had still enjoyed it. It was clear however that his boyfriend had loved it.

"Oh man…" Lance managed, between hearty chuckles. "…And they even got the guys back to do a new version of the _Deadpool Rap_." He managed to keep a straight face for a moment, before the end-credit scene popped back into his mind.

"I'm glad you liked it." Keith smirked; his boyfriend was making an effort to reign in his laughter.

"I _loved_ it." He responded, wiping the tears from his eyes.

"I hadn't noticed." Keith responded, in a deadpan tone. Thanks to their months of friendship and dating, Lance knew well enough this was one of Keith's refined brands of sarcasm.

The pale-skinned man raised a querying brow. "What do you want to do now?"

The tan-skinned man considered his boyfriend's question. "Dinner?"

Keith nodded. "Sounds good."

" _Island Soul_?"

Keith smirked. "Lead the way."

* * *

They'd been given a table by the window, which offered them a serviceable view of Rainier Avenue South as dusk settled in. Lance was happily tucking into his choice of Seafood Fritters, while Keith was demolishing a plate of the restaurant's Jerk Chicken Wings (with a glass of Diet Pepsi close to hand, a lesson learned from their first visit).

"Before I forget, Mom's been talking my ear off about 'when you'll be bringing Keith around again, we've barely seen him since Easter'." Lance remarked, including quote marks with his fingers.

Keith mostly succeeded in hiding his smile behind his napkin. "I didn't know I was _that_ popular."

"You are _mister popular_ at the McClain house. Mom's keen to have you over again so you can try some of her specialty recipes, and I'm sure Aba is already imagining what our grandkids would be like."

Keith let out a short laugh. "'Grandkids?' She thinks we'll be together long enough to get married and have some?"

Lance made a half-hearted attempt to kick Keith under the table. "Hey, if Aba thinks we'll make it to being a semi-happily-married couple, then I'll believe it. Besides… I can't see myself starting a family with anyone other than you."

Keith smirked. "Speak for yourself. As soon as I get a call from John Boyega I'm dropping you like… Like…"

"Like Donald Trump drops White House staffers?"

"Yes! Thank you, Lance."

"Smooth."

"I'd like to see you do better." Keith fired back in amused jest.

"As soon as I get a text from Diego Luna, or Olivia Munn, I'll dump you like Marvel dumped 'Fan-four-stic'."

Keith actually winced a little. "Ouch. Okay, yeah… That _was_ better."

Lance popped another chunk of fritter into his mouth, and chewed it with some smugness.

Keith let the conversation lull for a few minutes, before he changed the subject: "So… I'd been planning to go to this year's Sasquatch with Matt, but he's had to pull out because of sudden work stuff… And I'm stuck with an extra ticket. I know it's short notice… But, would you like to go with me?"

Lance looked momentarily surprised, but he quickly banished his surprise with a winning smile. "Sure."

"You don't have to say 'yes' just to please me; I know you might have plans."

"Babe, I said 'sure'." The pecan-haired man laughed. "I'm happy to sleep in a tent or in the back of a truck if you're there with me."

Keith's face brightened. "Great."

"Of course, you'll have to 'ask my Dad and Mom that you want to take me to the junior prom'… Or maybe that'd be ask my Mom and my Aba?"

Keith gave his boyfriend an unimpressed look.

"Just kidding, babe." Lance remarked, before taking a swig of his orange juice. "So, who's playing?"

Without needing another word to proceed, Keith began to pull up a selection of tracks by some of the bands playing at the music festival, which he'd preview to the man opposite as soon as they'd finished their dinner and dessert.

* * *

They'd been too many bands and songs to choose from to give Lance a comprehensive idea of whether he'd like the acts or not, but he was willing to give the event a go, seeing as his boyfriend had asked him to join him.

The night was dark, but still had warmth to the air which was semi-typical of a late-Spring evening. The lights along Rainier Avenue South, such as they were, glowed brilliantly in the darkness, and the marquee of the Ark Lodge stood out like a neon sore thumb.

As they walked back to the raven-haired man's bike, Lance slung an arm over Keith's shoulder, and Keith rested a hand on his boyfriend's waist.

"Speaking of events in the near future, do you have any plans for Pride weekend?"

Keith made a non-committal noise. "Dunno. There's this guy who I might be spending time with."

Lance quirked an eyebrow. "Yeah? What's he like?"

Keith screwed up his face to make it look like he was thinking. "Oh, you know… Talks too much, can't spend five minutes without looking in a mirror… Has this massive ego that needs to be constantly praised…"

" _Really?_ " Lance asked, a sliver of challenge in his voice. "I wonder if he knows this fashion-blind, socially-inept ass with a really terrible haircut."

"I don't know? Maybe he does? Maybe he doesn't." Keith replied, an equally-challenging glint in his eye.

"Maybe we should set them up with each other. They sound like the _perfect_ couple."

The two of them broke into a bout of laughter.

After a while, Keith steered the conversation back to less-nonsensical pastures. "I'll talk with Shiro closer to the time, but we should be able to meet up with you guys."

"Awesome." Lance reached Keith's Yamaha where he had left it; parked a few blocks east of the cinema.

"I had a fun time." Keith smiled. "Thanks."

Lance casually shrugged. "My pleasure." He smiled.

As Keith extracted his helmet from the motorcycle's built-in compartment, he offered the spare. "Ride home?"

Lance smiled, and accepted the headgear. "Who am I to say 'no' to my knight in crimson armour?" He slipped the helmet on with semi-familiar ease, and settled in to ride pillion.

With the kick of the starter, and the rumble of the engine, Keith eased away from the sidewalk and out into the Seattle night-time.


	6. June - 'They'll let me take you to the'

**June - "They'll let me take you to the Junior Prom"  
**

* * *

Whistles, cheers and music rumbled up and down the length of 4th Avenue from Union Street to Denny Way. The 1500-yard parade route was bursting with rainbow flags of all shapes, sizes, and interpretations, in addition to a healthy representation of the bi, transgender, lesbian, and a speckling of bear flags.

From the corner of 4th Avenue and Pine Street, under the shade of the trees and within hearing distance of the Westlake Park stage, Lance, Keith, Pidge, Hunk, Shiro and Allura crowded the railing closing off the street. They'd gotten there early to get a decent spot along the parade route.

Out on the avenue, a cavalcade of participants dressed in _Star Wars_ costumes, some adorned with creative rainbow detailing, marched into view.

Keith glanced towards Lance, whose face wore a bright grin. This was one of those moments where the raven-haired man got to see his boyfriend's 4-year-old self, when he was introduced to the _Star Wars_ universe for the first time.

Keith gave him a gentle nudge and a breathy laugh. "Don't go getting any ideas."

"What?" Lance responded, uncertain of the accusation. "I honestly have no idea what you're talking about."

"Don't play dumb with me; I know you're thinking about making a Han Solo costume… And giving it bi flag-coloured Corellian Bloodstripes."

Lance blinked, it took him a moment to digest the subtext, but when he did, he broke into an even-broader grin and pulled the other young man into a half-hug. "I think I love you."

Pidge rolled their eyes and turned their attention back to the parade, letting out a disappointed huff as they did. "Half a dozen Stormtroopers, and all I'm asking for is one Warthog. That'd be amazing to see."

Hunk shot his bespectacled co-conspirator a sympathetic smile. "Can't have too much of a good thing, Pidge."

"It's been five years… They could've brought it back for this year's parade!"

Lance glanced over Keith's shoulder towards the owner of the mop of ginger hair. "Will a toy Warthog from the convention work for you?"

Pidge considered the proposal, and semi-relented: "Maybe."

Their attention was drawn towards the snow-haired member of the group, who was officially attending Seattle Pride for the first time.

"This is quite splendid." Allura remarked. "The vibrancy, the creativity… It's almost like the event has taken on a life of its own."

"And there's still the festival this afternoon. Compared to that, the parade is like a quiet party." Shiro elaborated.

She glanced towards Lance, Keith and the others. "I can see why you've always been so keen to attend. I wish I'd started sooner."

"You're here now. Don't worry about it." Keith offered, and she beamed.

They turned their attention back towards the parade, just as a party of pirates ambled into view.

* * *

As with all things, the parade had to draw to a close. With its conclusion, the group hopped onto the Monorail at Westlake Station, where it would only be a short hop to the station at Seattle Centre.

The rumble and electric hum transported them above the city streets, whilst broken shafts of sunlight pierced the monorail interior as they swayed gently as they were transported eleven blocks north.

The train was nearing the Seattle Centre station when Hunk grimaced and clutched his stomach. "Uh, guys… I know we've just got here, but can we grab some lunch? I didn't get much when it came to breakfast."

"It probably is a good idea to get something to eat before we lose track of time at the 'Fest." Shiro agreed. "What did you have in mind?"

The engineer nodded towards the Armory, a large brick and concrete structure adjacent to the Monorail station. "I know just the place, anyone up for pizza?"

* * *

As it happened, the whole group was up for pizza, and 'the place' was Mod Pizza, just a short walk from the base of the Space Needle.

"Mmmmm." Hunk hummed contently as he tucked into his 'Apia Supreme', a dish of his own creation that came as close as he could get to being a little slice of the land his parents had once called home. The creation featured grilled chicken, anchovies, spring mix, parmesan and tomato sauce on an 11 inch base.

Lance and Keith were sat to Hunk's left, and had opted for a Calexico (mozzarella, gorgonzola, chicken, jalapenos, hot buffalo sauce and red sauce) and a Mad Dog (mozzarella, pepperoni, mild sausage, ground beef and red sauce) respectively.

To Hunk's right, Allura had chosen a Caesar salad, whilst Shiro had gone for the "Simple" (green vegetables, roasted red peppers, asiago, and with an added compliment of grated carrots and roasted broccoli).

Pidge, sat directly across the table from the engineer, had gone for cinnamon strips, and small Jasper (mozzarella, mushrooms, spicy Italian sausage and red sauce).

Allura wore an amused smile as she stabbed some of her salad onto her fork. "There are few sounds in the universe that are as effective at conveying satisfaction as one of Hunk's happy hums."

"A mod pizza comes pretty close to perfection." Hunk nodded. "But the best thing ever is getting a seized piston head to move freely again, followed up by a glass of chilled Niu with Shay."

"Niu?" Shiro asked.

"Milk from a young coconut, before it's ripened."

The older man nodded in understanding. He began to load up his fork with some more of his salad. "I guess perfection for me is a Spring Saturday evening, sat with Allura on the bench right at the tip of Sayres Memorial Park where it overlooks the water."

"Perfection for me is getting a HTML/CSS commission to gel together seamlessly, and getting the whole thing working a day earlier than the competition." Pidge stated.

Lance gave his ginger friend a flat look. "Coding isn't the same as a sunset, Pidge."

"You're right. Sunsets happen every day, I… Or some other technomage has to come up with a way of making one code work with another." The hacker rebuffed.

Shiro glanced towards the tanned man. "What's your idea of perfection?"

"Keith and me, riding through the city at night on his bike after dinner and a movie." Lance fired off without having to think it over.

"Really?" Keith asked, surprised.

Lance responded with a half-shrug. "Sure, I mean… You're really confident when you ride that thing around, and it's kinda intimate and comforting when I wrap my arms around when we're riding together… We're close… And we don't have to worry about… You know, communicating out loud."

Pidge snorted. "Because communicating with words has always been a struggle with lover-boy, here."

"Hey!" Lance barked, shooting a glare at a semi-smug looking Pidge. He turned back to Keith, who now seemed very quiet.

"What's your idea of perfection?" Hunk asked of Allura.

Her lips curved into a fond smile. "Would you believe moments like this? When our circle of friends has gathered, and we don't have any other commitments… Although, I do wish Coran and Shay were here with us today, then that would be perfect. With that said however, Shiro's moment does have quite a lot of appeal." She sent a smile toward her boyfriend.

"So… What's your idea of perfection?" Pidge looked towards the man sat at Lance's side.

Keith looked around the table, as if he was gauging whether to tell them. His violet eyes settled on his boyfriend and the confidence in them bolstered his own. "It's raining outside, and the window's open… When you can hear that quiet… 'Roar' the rain makes when it hits everything. All of that, and I'm sat with Lance in the window seat. That's perfection."

Lance smiled fondly in response, and he gave his boyfriend's cheek a kiss.

* * *

The group had semi-reluctantly relinquished the comfort and companionship of their restaurant table, having accepted that the longer they spent sat in the Pizzeria, the less time they had at PrideFest.

The air of the campus was even more of a buzz than the parade route, the hum of music was interwoven by the timbre of eager and excited voices as the group of friends ambled westward, towards Fisher Pavilion: host of the Queer Geeks & Gamers convention.

The sounds of the crowds and music grew louder as they circled the western side of the pavilion, and the spray from the International Fountain was just visible in the distance. The majority of the gathered attendees were watching as Art of Hot performed on the nearby stage.

Keith, Lance, Pidge, Hunk, Allura and Shiro made their way through the glass doors lining the front of the pavilion, and took in the sprawling sight before them: a bazaar of stalls and tables, catering to a multitude of geeky and niche interests. There was a hefty variety in attendance, ranging from licenced statues and drink coasters, to repurposed arcade cabinet artwork.

Pidge broke into grin at the sights and sounds. They spun on their heel and shot a look of challenge as they began pace backwards towards the stands and kiosks. "First one to the console station gets to play as Yoshi in _Mario Kart_!"

Lance and Keith shared a look and a smirk, before they took off in hot pursuit of their bespectacled friend.

"Guys! Come on, you know you shouldn't run on a full stomach!" Hunk protested as he broke into a jog after his friends. Shiro and Allura simply chuckled and shook their heads ruefully.

"We'd better make sure they don't get into trouble." Allura noted with a smile.

"Definitely… One of those days they're gonna make my hair go white from stress." Shiro chuckled.

* * *

"Pidge! How could you, I thought we were friends?" Hunk whimpered.

"I'm sorry Hunk, but you know all's fair in love and _Mario Kart_."

"I know, but was the blue shell really necessary?"

Pidge pushed their glasses back up their nose. "You would've used it on me if you had the chance."

Hunk almost looked insulted. "I have never used the blue shell on a friend." In the better part of the five years he'd known Lance and Pidge, he'd never subjected them to the dreaded power-up.

Their console and cabinet gaming for the day was now behind them, and they'd progressed on to the merchandise stalls.

Lance leaned over so he could whisper in Keith's ear. "I give them ten minutes, and they're best buddies again."

"Five."

"Want to put your money where your mouth is, pretty boy?"

Keith's cheeks reddened a little, but it didn't dim his challenging smile. "Sure."

"I win, you have to…" He glanced over the tables, and spotted a rather ugly _Star Wars_ Christmas jumper, featuring Kylo Ren's helmet. "Buy and wear that jumper."

Lance pointed out the garment and Keith glared, he wasn't a fan of Ren.

"Fine." He grumbled, and then plastered a calmer and smugger expression on his face. "Fine. If I win, you'll get…" He glanced around, wanting to find something appropriately degrading. "You have to get _that_. You have to get it, and wear it the next time we're at Emerald City Comic Con."

Lance followed the direction Keith pointed, towards a T-shirt hung in a nearby kiosk. He wasn't sure if his blood had boiled or chilled.

"You wouldn't."

Keith smirked. "I would."

The T-shirt showed a Dalek from _Doctor Who_ , surrounded by the following text:

 **OMG ITS R2D2!  
** **I LOVED HIM IN  
** **STAR TREK**

Lance really, _really_ didn't want to commit to that garmental monstrosity. But he couldn't resist a dare issued by Keith, so he swallowed his pride.

"Fine."

"Fist bump?" Keith suggested.

"Fist bump." Lance grimaced, and they fist bumped.

"Check it out!" The boyfriends' attention was drawn back to Pidge, who'd darted over to a table covered in figures and toys. Nestled on a shelf behind the vendor and his table, was a remote-controlled Tyco _Halo_ Warthog.

Lance's eyes flitted from Pidge to the toy, and back again. "You want it, don't you?"

"Does poison oak suck?" Pidge quipped with a smirk.

Lance let out a sigh, and turned his eyes briefly back to the toy, before he looked at the vendor. The man sat at the table was old enough to have wrinkles setting in, and a matching set of red eyebrows and goatee that can't have been natural. The smile he gave Lance was something reptilian, and if he had a second pair of hands, Lance was certain he would've been rubbing them gleefully under the table.

* * *

Lance tried not to think too much about the cost of the toy Warthog. Pidge was happy with the purchase, and in consolation, he'd won the bet with Keith, who was now the proud owner of one awful Christmas jumper.

The group had retired to the patio-like area on the top of the pavilion so they could enjoy the music portion of the festival. From there they had a good view of the Fountain Stage, without having to jostle with the crowd gathered in front of it.  
DJ Colby B was going through her set as Allura and Shiro relaxed in some chairs nearby, whilst Pidge, Hunk, Keith and Lance perched on the quasi-futuristic metal railing.

Keith glanced towards the engineer and the hacker, they were currently engrossed with Pidge's new novelty. Satisfied they wouldn't be listening in for the moment, he then turned his head to catch Lance's attention.

"Can I ask you something?"

Lance shrugged breezily. "Sure."

"Do you have any plans for next Friday evening?"

"Well, I've got this dinner date with a guy. You might know him, he's got black hair and is about your height." The tanned man grinned.

"Lance." Keith interjected, and Lance frowned. There was an uncertain tone in his boyfriend's voice.

"Sorry…" Lance placated. "My Friday plans are whatever you're doing. What are we doing?"

"The Lion's Den has got this thing on… A 'Prom Night'. Suits, ties, decorations and a band. Stuff like that."

"And you want to go? Sure."

"Thanks." Keith smiled weakly. Lance matched the smile, and pulled his boyfriend into a half-hug. He could sense there was more to Keith's request, but he wasn't entirely sure how to approach what was being left unspoken.

"Heck, I should be thanking you, have I told you how hot you look in a suit?" Keith struggled to hide the blush the remark produced. "Do I have to get you a boutonniere?"

The violet-eyed man shrugged uncertainly. "You can, if you want." He lapsed into silence for a moment, before he took a shaky breath and pressed on. "I don't really have much experience with Prom stuff."

Lance's heart ached at the tone buried in his boyfriend's admission. "You didn't get to go to Prom?"

"Shiro encouraged me to go, and I did… But being the 'angry loner'… And being so _helplessly_ gay…" He gave Lance a half-smile to know he was being flippant. "…I didn't have a lot of people asking me to be their date."

Lance felt a sudden, brief spell of guilt, it hadn't occurred to him before now how relatively lucky he'd been when it'd come to his own Prom experiences: his junior and senior nights had been pretty enjoyable (excluding that one moment things went south with Jenny Shaybon).

He knew Keith's High School years hadn't been fantastic, but it hadn't entered his mind that his Prom experiences had been similarly disappointing.

Lance took Keith's hands in his own. "I'm gonna get you the best boutonniere." He already knew what it'd be: a burgundy rose. "And you're going to look amazing in that black suit and purple waistcoat of yours."

Keith's lips cracked into a grin. "You're dressing me now?"

"I've undressed you loads of times, it had to happen at least once." Lance quipped.

"Huh." The raven-haired man chuckled. "And you'll wear that dark blue suit, with the darker blue waistcoat."

Lance nodded. "I like your thinking." He closed the distance between them, and pulled Keith into a kiss.

"Happy Pride, babe."

"Yeah." Keith smiled. "Same."

 **June**

* * *

Whistles, cheers and music rumbled up and down the length of 4th Avenue from Union Street to Denny Way. The 1500-yard parade route was bursting with rainbow flags of all shapes, sizes, and interpretations, in addition to a healthy representation of the bi, transgender, lesbian, and a speckling of bear flags.

From the corner of 4th Avenue and Pine Street, under the shade of the trees and within hearing distance of the Westlake Park stage, Lance, Keith, Pidge, Hunk, Shiro and Allura crowded the railing closing off the street. They'd gotten there early to get a decent spot along the parade route.

Out on the avenue, a cavalcade of participants dressed in _Star Wars_ costumes, some adorned with creative rainbow detailing, marched into view.

Keith glanced towards Lance, whose face wore a bright grin. This was one of those moments where the raven-haired man got to see his boyfriend's 4-year-old self, when he was introduced to the _Star Wars_ universe for the first time.

Keith gave him a gentle nudge and a breathy laugh. "Don't go getting any ideas."

"What?" Lance responded, uncertain of the accusation. "I honestly have no idea what you're talking about."

"Don't play dumb with me; I know you're thinking about making a Han Solo costume… And giving it bi flag-coloured Corellian Bloodstripes."

Lance blinked, it took him a moment to digest the subtext, but when he did, he broke into an even-broader grin and pulled the other young man into a half-hug. "I think I love you."

Pidge rolled their eyes and turned their attention back to the parade, letting out a disappointed huff as they did. "Half a dozen Stormtroopers, and all I'm asking for is one Warthog. That'd be amazing to see."

Hunk shot his bespectacled co-conspirator a sympathetic smile. "Can't have too much of a good thing, Pidge."

"It's been five years… They could've brought it back for this year's parade!"

Lance glanced over Keith's shoulder towards the owner of the mop of ginger hair. "Will a toy Warthog from the convention work for you?"

Pidge considered the proposal, and semi-relented: "Maybe."

Their attention was drawn towards the snow-haired member of the group, who was officially attending Seattle Pride for the first time.

"This is quite splendid." Allura remarked. "The vibrancy, the creativity… It's almost like the event has taken on a life of its own."

"And there's still the festival this afternoon. Compared to that, the parade is like a quiet party." Shiro elaborated.

She glanced towards Lance, Keith and the others. "I can see why you've always been so keen to attend. I wish I'd started sooner."

"You're here now. Don't worry about it." Keith offered, and she beamed.

They turned their attention back towards the parade, just as a party of pirates ambled into view.

* * *

As with all things, the parade had to draw to a close. With its conclusion, the group hopped onto the Monorail at Westlake Station, where it would only be a short hop to the station at Seattle Centre.

The rumble and electric hum transported them above the city streets, whilst broken shafts of sunlight pierced the monorail interior as they swayed gently as they were transported eleven blocks north.

The train was nearing the Seattle Centre station when Hunk grimaced and clutched his stomach. "Uh, guys… I know we've just got here, but can we grab some lunch? I didn't get much when it came to breakfast."

"It probably is a good idea to get something to eat before we lose track of time at the 'Fest." Shiro agreed. "What did you have in mind?"

The engineer nodded towards the Armory, a large brick and concrete structure adjacent to the Monorail station. "I know just the place, anyone up for pizza?"

* * *

As it happened, the whole group was up for pizza, and 'the place' was Mod Pizza, just a short walk from the base of the Space Needle.

"Mmmmm." Hunk hummed contently as he tucked into his 'Apia Supreme', a dish of his own creation that came as close as he could get to being a little slice of the land his parents had once called home. The creation featured grilled chicken, anchovies, spring mix, parmesan and tomato sauce on an 11 inch base.

Lance and Keith were sat to Hunk's left, and had opted for a Calexico (mozzarella, gorgonzola, chicken, jalapenos, hot buffalo sauce and red sauce) and a Mad Dog (mozzarella, pepperoni, mild sausage, ground beef and red sauce) respectively.

To Hunk's right, Allura had chosen a Caesar salad, whilst Shiro had gone for the "Simple" (green vegetables, roasted red peppers, asiago, and with an added compliment of grated carrots and roasted broccoli).

Pidge, sat directly across the table from the engineer, had gone for cinnamon strips, and small Jasper (mozzarella, mushrooms, spicy Italian sausage and red sauce).

Allura wore an amused smile as she stabbed some of her salad onto her fork. "There are few sounds in the universe that are as effective at conveying satisfaction as one of Hunk's happy hums."

"A mod pizza comes pretty close to perfection." Hunk nodded. "But the best thing ever is getting a seized piston head to move freely again, followed up by a glass of chilled Niu with Shay."

"Niu?" Shiro asked.

"Milk from a young coconut, before it's ripened."

The older man nodded in understanding. He began to load up his fork with some more of his salad. "I guess perfection for me is a Spring Saturday evening, sat with Allura on the bench right at the tip of Sayres Memorial Park where it overlooks the water."

"Perfection for me is getting a HTML/CSS commission to gel together seamlessly, and getting the whole thing working a day earlier than the competition." Pidge stated.

Lance gave his ginger friend a flat look. "Coding isn't the same as a sunset, Pidge."

"You're right. Sunsets happen every day, I… Or some other technomage has to come up with a way of making one code work with another." The hacker rebuffed.

Shiro glanced towards the tanned man. "What's your idea of perfection?"

"Keith and me, riding through the city at night on his bike after dinner and a movie." Lance fired off without having to think it over.

"Really?" Keith asked, surprised.

Lance responded with a half-shrug. "Sure, I mean… You're really confident when you ride that thing around, and it's kinda intimate and comforting when I wrap my arms around when we're riding together… We're close… And we don't have to worry about… You know, communicating out loud."

Pidge snorted. "Because communicating with words has always been a struggle with lover-boy, here."

"Hey!" Lance barked, shooting a glare at a semi-smug looking Pidge. He turned back to Keith, who now seemed very quiet.

"What's your idea of perfection?" Hunk asked of Allura.

Her lips curved into a fond smile. "Would you believe moments like this? When our circle of friends has gathered, and we don't have any other commitments… Although, I do wish Coran and Shay were here with us today, then that would be perfect. With that said however, Shiro's moment does have quite a lot of appeal." She sent a smile toward her boyfriend.

"So… What's your idea of perfection?" Pidge looked towards the man sat at Lance's side.

Keith looked around the table, as if he was gauging whether to tell them. His violet eyes settled on his boyfriend and the confidence in them bolstered his own. "It's raining outside, and the window's open… When you can hear that quiet… 'Roar' the rain makes when it hits everything. All of that, and I'm sat with Lance in the window seat. That's perfection."

Lance smiled fondly in response, and he gave his boyfriend's cheek a kiss.

* * *

The group had semi-reluctantly relinquished the comfort and companionship of their restaurant table, having accepted that the longer they spent sat in the Pizzeria, the less time they had at PrideFest.

The air of the campus was even more of a buzz than the parade route, the hum of music was interwoven by the timbre of eager and excited voices as the group of friends ambled westward, towards Fisher Pavilion: host of the Queer Geeks & Gamers convention.

The sounds of the crowds and music grew louder as they circled the western side of the pavilion, and the spray from the International Fountain was just visible in the distance. The majority of the gathered attendees were watching as Art of Hot performed on the nearby stage.

Keith, Lance, Pidge, Hunk, Allura and Shiro made their way through the glass doors lining the front of the pavilion, and took in the sprawling sight before them: a bazaar of stalls and tables, catering to a multitude of geeky and niche interests. There was a hefty variety in attendance, ranging from licenced statues and drink coasters, to repurposed arcade cabinet artwork.

Pidge broke into grin at the sights and sounds. They spun on their heel and shot a look of challenge as they began pace backwards towards the stands and kiosks. "First one to the console station gets to play as Yoshi in _Mario Kart_!"

Lance and Keith shared a look and a smirk, before they took off in hot pursuit of their bespectacled friend.

"Guys! Come on, you know you shouldn't run on a full stomach!" Hunk protested as he broke into a jog after his friends. Shiro and Allura simply chuckled and shook their heads ruefully.

"We'd better make sure they don't get into trouble." Allura noted with a smile.

"Definitely… One of those days they're gonna make my hair go white from stress." Shiro chuckled.

* * *

"Pidge! How could you, I thought we were friends?" Hunk whimpered.

"I'm sorry Hunk, but you know all's fair in love and _Mario Kart_."

"I know, but was the blue shell really necessary?"

Pidge pushed their glasses back up their nose. "You would've used it on me if you had the chance."

Hunk almost looked insulted. "I have never used the blue shell on a friend." In the better part of the five years he'd known Lance and Pidge, he'd never subjected them to the dreaded power-up.

Their console and cabinet gaming for the day was now behind them, and they'd progressed on to the merchandise stalls.

Lance leaned over so he could whisper in Keith's ear. "I give them ten minutes, and they're best buddies again."

"Five."

"Want to put your money where your mouth is, pretty boy?"

Keith's cheeks reddened a little, but it didn't dim his challenging smile. "Sure."

"I win, you have to…" He glanced over the tables, and spotted a rather ugly _Star Wars_ Christmas jumper, featuring Kylo Ren's helmet. "Buy and wear that jumper."

Lance pointed out the garment and Keith glared, he wasn't a fan of Ren.

"Fine." He grumbled, and then plastered a calmer and smugger expression on his face. "Fine. If I win, you'll get…" He glanced around, wanting to find something appropriately degrading. "You have to get _that_. You have to get it, and wear it the next time we're at Emerald City Comic Con."

Lance followed the direction Keith pointed, towards a T-shirt hung in a nearby kiosk. He wasn't sure if his blood had boiled or chilled.

"You wouldn't."

Keith smirked. "I would."

The T-shirt showed a Dalek from _Doctor Who_ , surrounded by the following text:

 **OMG ITS R2D2!**  
 **I LOVED HIM IN**  
 **STAR TREK**

Lance really, _really_ didn't want to commit to that garmental monstrosity. But he couldn't resist a dare issued by Keith, so he swallowed his pride.

"Fine."

"Fist bump?" Keith suggested.

"Fist bump." Lance grimaced, and they fist bumped.

"Check it out!" The boyfriends' attention was drawn back to Pidge, who'd darted over to a table covered in figures and toys. Nestled on a shelf behind the vendor and his table, was a remote-controlled Tyco _Halo_ Warthog.

Lance's eyes flitted from Pidge to the toy, and back again. "You want it, don't you?"

"Does poison oak suck?" Pidge quipped with a smirk.

Lance let out a sigh, and turned his eyes briefly back to the toy, before he looked at the vendor. The man sat at the table was old enough to have wrinkles setting in, and a matching set of red eyebrows and goatee that can't have been natural. The smile he gave Lance was something reptilian, and if he had a second pair of hands, Lance was certain he would've been rubbing them gleefully under the table.

* * *

Lance tried not to think too much about the cost of the toy Warthog. Pidge was happy with the purchase, and in consolation, he'd won the bet with Keith, who was now the proud owner of one awful Christmas jumper.

The group had retired to the patio-like area on the top of the pavilion so they could enjoy the music portion of the festival. From there they had a good view of the Fountain Stage, without having to jostle with the crowd gathered in front of it.  
DJ Colby B was going through her set as Allura and Shiro relaxed in some chairs nearby, whilst Pidge, Hunk, Keith and Lance perched on the quasi-futuristic metal railing.

Keith glanced towards the engineer and the hacker, they were currently engrossed with Pidge's new novelty. Satisfied they wouldn't be listening in for the moment, he then turned his head to catch Lance's attention.

"Can I ask you something?"

Lance shrugged breezily. "Sure."

"Do you have any plans for next Friday evening?"

"Well, I've got this dinner date with a guy. You might know him, he's got black hair and is about your height." The tanned man grinned.

"Lance." Keith interjected, and Lance frowned. There was an uncertain tone in his boyfriend's voice.

"Sorry…" Lance placated. "My Friday plans are whatever you're doing. What are we doing?"

"The Lion's Den has got this thing on… A 'Prom Night'. Suits, ties, decorations and a band. Stuff like that."

"And you want to go? Sure."

"Thanks." Keith smiled weakly. Lance matched the smile, and pulled his boyfriend into a half-hug. He could sense there was more to Keith's request, but he wasn't entirely sure how to approach what was being left unspoken.

"Heck, I should be thanking you, have I told you how hot you look in a suit?" Keith struggled to hide the blush the remark produced. "Do I have to get you a boutonniere?"

The violet-eyed man shrugged uncertainly. "You can, if you want." He lapsed into silence for a moment, before he took a shaky breath and pressed on. "I don't really have much experience with Prom stuff."

Lance's heart ached at the tone buried in his boyfriend's admission. "You didn't get to go to Prom?"

"Shiro encouraged me to go, and I did… But being the 'angry loner'… And being so _helplessly_ gay…" He gave Lance a half-smile to know he was being flippant. "…I didn't have a lot of people asking me to be their date."

Lance felt a sudden, brief spell of guilt, it hadn't occurred to him before now how relatively lucky he'd been when it'd come to his own Prom experiences: his junior and senior nights had been pretty enjoyable (excluding that one moment things went south with Jenny Shaybon).

He knew Keith's High School years hadn't been fantastic, but it hadn't entered his mind that his Prom experiences had been similarly disappointing.

Lance took Keith's hands in his own. "I'm gonna get you the best boutonniere." He already knew what it'd be: a burgundy rose. "And you're going to look amazing in that black suit and purple waistcoat of yours."

Keith's lips cracked into a grin. "You're dressing me now?"

"I've undressed you loads of times, it had to happen at least once." Lance quipped.

"Huh." The raven-haired man chuckled. "And you'll wear that dark blue suit, with the darker blue waistcoat."

Lance nodded. "I like your thinking." He closed the distance between them, and pulled Keith into a kiss.

"Happy Pride, babe."

"Yeah." Keith smiled. "Same."


	7. July - 'Like a firecracker all aglow'

**July - "Like a firecracker all aglow"**

* * *

They'd been on the road for ten minutes, and Lance was already starting to feel antsy.

"Can I take this thing off already?" The force of his protest was undercut by the chuckle he broke into a moment later. Hunk and Pidge had insisted on the blindfold, whilst Keith had looked uncertain about the idea. They were going out for the tanned man's birthday, and Team Punk™ was determined to keep the destination a surprise.

"The blindfold stays on until we get there, so no peeking."

"But we've been driving for _ages_ , how much longer do I have to wear this thing?"

"Not long now." Pidge responded, and he immediately suspected that answer was bending the truth into new and unknown shapes.

"Can't you guys just tell me already? I can pretend to be surprised when we get there!"

"I'm not saying a word." Pidge's voice retorted from the front-passenger seat. "And neither is Hunk."

"Sorry bud."

Lance turned to his right, blindly facing Keith who was sat beside him.

"Keith? Buddy? My man?"

"Don't you even think about it, Keith."

"You're _my_ boyfriend!" Lance began to whine.

"I will hack your iPod and replace all of your chill-listening music with the Justin Bieber, The Spice Girls and Nickleback."

Lance may not've been able to see his boyfriend, but at this point in their relationship, he was sure he sensed the raven-hair man flinch at that very moment.

"I'll make it up to you later. I will." Keith's voice reassured. "We're not far away now."

Lance pouted, feeling a slight note of betrayal. He'd remember this transgression when Keith's birthday rolled around near Halloween.

"Can we at least put on my playlist?"

* * *

Lance thought they'd probably been driving for another twenty minutes, although it was hard to tell between not being able to look at the clock on his phone, or the scenery. Hunk's canary-yellow 2011 Ford Escape drew to a stop, and the rumble of the engine ceased.

"We're here." Keith whispered quietly, and in that moment, Lance's frustration was buried in the avalanche of his anticipation. The SUV doors were opened, and he was greeted with the smell of salty air, and the distant rush of waves.

"Are we at the beach?" He grinned. A leather-gloved hand took his, and gently helped him out of the car to stand.

"Team Punk, in association with Shirogane Brothers entertainment, Altea productions, and Wimbleton Smyth follies - presents your birthday!" Pidge's voice announced in appropriately over-dramatic fashion.

The blindfold was removed from Lance's eyes, and he blinked away the sudden blurriness.

" _SURPRISE!_ " Pidge, Hunk, Keith, Shiro, Allura, Coran, Shay, and Matt shouted. The majority of the group was gathered in front of Shiro's black 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee, with an assortment of gear for spending the day at the beach.

Lance looked around, and his earlier suspicions were confirmed: they'd parked up a short distance from one of Washington State's beach-side parks.  
The park (Picnic Point Park, as he'd soon learn) was located north of Seattle, in the city of Edmonds. He glanced back, and finally noticed that he was the odd one out in the group: everyone else was dressed for the day out they'd planned.

"This looks amazing guys, but I didn't bring my board shorts."

"That's what your boyfriend's for." Pidge pointed out, and Lance turned. Keith held out a gym bag, which upon closer inspection contained his swimming shorts, a pair of sandals, his sunglasses, sunscreen and a faded Seahawks baseball cap. He broke into a smile, realizing in that moment just how well Keith got him.

"I don't deserve you."

Keith shrugged, offering him a flippant smirk. "Sure you do."

"This whole thing was Keith's idea." Hunk remarked, and Lance's blue eyes widened.

"Really?"

Keith didn't really answer the question, but his sudden embarrassed evasiveness was more than enough of a confirmation.

"He asked us if there was anywhere that was really special to you that you might want to go for your Birthday, and after he found out about Varadero Beach, he started looking at beaches around the city."

"A lot of them were pretty disappointing." Keith shrugged. "Some were just strips of land, and didn't even have any sand."

"And then he found this place." Pidge added.

"I wanted to find you some place with sand, a good view, and somewhere that wouldn't be too busy with other people. It's not as big or has the stuff Golden Gardens Park has… But it's got sand, some charcoal cookers that we can use to cook some food…"

Lance beamed. "Sounds like it'll be just what we need." He leant over and tugged Keith into a kiss. Upon surfacing for air, he turned his attention towards his friends. "Let's get this party started!"

* * *

Due to the path of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe freight line, the most direct access to Picnic Point Park and its beach was via a long ramp leading up to a concrete footbridge.  
On the far side of the tracks, the footbridge terminated in a dog-legged ramp which led down to a wide and unpopulated grassy area. The grassy part of the park was populated with a decent scattering of trees, and furnished with picnic benches and the aforementioned cookers.

Beyond the picnic green, the track snaked through a scattering of driftwood logs, bleached silver by the sun. The path eventually out onto a mixed sand and shingle shore.  
The beach stretched off to the left and right as Lance took it in, and ahead in the distance, partially-submerged by the waters of Puget Sound, were the rotted piles of some long-forgotten piers.

It wasn't Varadero Beach, but Keith had found it, and his friends were there to spend his Birthday with him. It _was_ perfect.

The group had set up shop at a pair of picnic tables that had been pushed together end-on-end, and were only a few feet from one of the cookers. Coran gave the charcoal and food supplies a studious appraisal, before he turned his attention to the bandanna-wearer of the group.

"Doctor Hunk, I require your assistance in the operating theatre, stat."

Hunk adopted an air of authoritive seriousness. "It would be my honour, Doctor Coran." The two of them gathered up the supplies, and made their way over to the barbecue. The group had brought a wide selection of items with them, including: beef burger patties, hotdog sausages (plus buns for both), tomato slices, cheese, corn on the cob, potatoes and an assortment of vegetables.

As Hunk and Coran set to work, Shiro began to extract some drinks from the coolers, whilst Allura and Matt set up the table cloths and plates.

"Is there anything I can help with?" Lance asked, feeling he should be helping set up.

Allura smiled. "The offer's appreciated, but it's your birthday Lance. Go spend some time with Keith."

"We'll be done before you know it." Matt added.

"Why don't you go check out the beach?" Shiro suggested. Lance nodded. He still felt he should help out, but his friends had spoken. "Oh, and Lance?"

The blue-eyed man looked expectantly at Keith's older brother. "Yeah?"

"Here you go." The older man grinned, and he handed a pair of soda cans over to Lance: Diet Pepsi for Keith, and Minute Maid Lemonade for the birthday boy.

Given his marching orders, Lance shot a smirk towards his boyfriend as he passed the Pepsi across. "I know when we're not wanted."

* * *

What Keith had said was true, Picnic Point was smaller than Golden Gardens Park, but what it lacked in size, it made up for in feeling more relaxed and private. It didn't hurt that they were the only people out there using the park that day.  
They were only a short walk from the picnic area, yet the voices of their friends were already a quiet murmur in the background, against the steady rush of the tide.

The two young men settled on a driftwood log, and looked out towards the Kitsap Peninsula.

"If we ever go on a trip anywhere, remind me to let you do the picking." Lance mused.

"That your way of making me do all the work?" The raven-haired man queried as he sipped his drink.

" _That's_ my way of showing I have complete trust in your travel instincts." His boyfriend countered, slipping his free hand around Keith's waist. "I can already see us curled up here with the others as we watch the sun go down."

Keith smiled, which was enough to make Lance's chest bloom with warmth. "Glad you like it."

They sat there for a brief while, content in their company and the view, until Keith began to shift beside him, and managed to extract a small gift-wrapped item from his red swimming shorts. He offered it to Lance, who was taken aback.

He set his drink down in the sand and took the present. "I thought the beach trip was your present?" he grinned.

"It's part of it." The other young man smirked, and he watched as Lance carefully removed the ocean-themed wrapping paper. Hidden beneath the paper was a DVD of _Ready Player One_. Lance smirked, his boyfriend's love of the film had been obvious when they'd seen it months ago, and he had enjoyed it, although a lot of the references had gone over his head (not Pidge's or Hunks' though, they'd been laughing or barely containing their excitement during the film).

"Thank you, Mister Red Lion."

Keith playfully jostled Lance, and the pecan-haired man gave as good as he got. There was just enough time for the two of them to steal another kiss before Hunk called them over for their choice of food.

* * *

Their collective dinner had been delicious, not that such a fact would ever have been in doubt with the combined efforts of messrs Garrett and Wimbleton Smyth at the grill.  
Lance, Pidge, and Shiro had gone with burgers and a selection of vegetables. Coran and Keith had gone with mixed vegetables and hot dogs, whilst Hunk, Allura, Shay and Matt had gone for vegetarian-style skewers and sliced cheese.

After dinner, Hunk had unveiled their dessert with a flourish: his take on Brazo de Gitano, a Swiss Roll-style cake… Topped with a couple of non-traditional sparklers.

"I've never had fireworks for my birthday before." Lance joked as the sparklers fizzled out.

"And there's more where those came from." Coran added cryptically.

"Huh?"

"You'll find out." Pidge smirked. "Happy Birthday". The ginger-haired non-binarian handed over a wrapped box, which was quickly revealed to be a new pair of headphones.

"These are awesome," Lance smiled, "but you shouldn't be spending this much on me."

Pidge made a breezy hand gesture. "I have friends in high places who get me that sort of stuff for lowered rates."

Lance grinned. "Thanks."

Shiro and Allura were next, presenting Lance with a joint present: a small collection of multi-CD chill-out music albums, which Lance would happily be adding to his sleep music collection.

"Let me guess, a little bird mentioned I was looking for more tracks to add to my playlist?" He cast a sly glance at his boyfriend, who was trying to look as innocent as Keith Kogane could muster.

"We may've had a bit of help." Shiro admitted.

"Let us know if you've already got them, we can try find others to swap them with." Allura added.

Lance shook his head with a smile. "I definitely don't have these, thanks guys."

Across the table, Hunk and Shay held out a package. "This is from the both of us."

"Happy Birthday, Lance." She added with a polite smile. Lance removed the wrapping paper to find a sleeveless hoodie styled like his favourite jacket.

"Whoa… Where'd you get this?"

"Shay knows someone who custom prints hoodies." Hunk elaborated, favouring his girlfriend with a smile that totally betrayed his adoration of her.

Shay's shyness had crept in at Lance's reaction to the present. "We knew how much you love your jacket, and how much you missed it when it becomes hot during the summer. This way, you can wear a version of it throughout the whole year."

"I love it." Lance beamed. He quickly slipped off the blue hoodie he'd been wearing, and replaced it with the gift.

"Happiest of Birthdays, my boy." Coran held out an impeccably wrapped parcel, which Lance discovered to be a DVD of Hidden Figures, and the book which inspired the film.

Lance grinned. "Thanks Coran!" Space and N.A.S.A. were two interests that Lance was quietly passionate about.

"Pidge helped pick this out, so I hope it's okay." Matt explained with a smirk. "Happy Birthday, Lance."

From the paper covering, Lance extracted pair of knitting needles, and a ball of blue yarn. He burst into a bout of laughter, and Matt shared a momentary wary look with his sibling.

"Good one, Matt." The birthday boy remarked, wiping a tear from his eye. "My Aba taught me how to knit one summer when we were on vacation back in El Cocodrilo… And I ended up knitting a sweater for her cat. I haven't knitted in years… But guess I'll have start again now." He set the knitting gear down with his other presents. "Thanks a lot guys, thanks for being here."

The group regarded him with smiles and drinks raised in toasting. He then turned their attention back to their dessert: "I don't know about you guys, but I think Hunk's cake has been waiting long enough."

* * *

After dinner, the group migrated down to the beach to mess about in the water, and eventually watch as the horizon burst into an explosion of fire. The group conversed as selection of music played as a backing track. As promised earlier, the party-goers had brought along a small box of fireworks, which Matt and Pidge were in the process of setting up a short (and safe) distance away.

Lance nestled a little bit closer to his boyfriend; a wide smile of contentment graced his lips as they watched the sun set over the edge of the Kitsap Peninsula. This was one of his favourite times of the day, and one of his favourite times of the year, spent with his favourite people.

"You sure know how to show a guy a good time."

"Yeah? And we didn't even have to spend any time in bed."

"I'm not saying we can't do that when we get home…" The tanned man mused as he placed a kiss on Keith's neck.

"Don't get any ideas, the others are watching."

"Too late. You've given me plenty of ideas."

Keith's retort was stalled by the shrill cry of a rocket shooting off into the sky, and the two lovers watched as the first firework burst into a flare of royal blue.

Bursts of ruby, indigo, amber and emerald Chrysanthemums quickly followed, along with golden Glitter Palms, and a couple of silver Spinners.

The display marked the perfect end to a perfect day, and Lance was thankful for the people he could call his friends. Keith let out a quiet chuckle beside him, and the blue-eyed man looked towards his boyfriend with puzzlement.

"The fireworks were good, but I think you lit up brighter when you got your presents, especially that hoodie."

Lance smirked. "I might've lit up like a firework, but you're my firecracker, all aglow."

Keith rolled his eyes. "That was _so_ lame."

Lance shrugged with a good-natured smile. "Thank you." He whispered as he planted a kiss on Keith's cheek.

"Glad you had fun." The indigo-eyed man responded.

"Lots and lots of fun…" His boyfriend agreed. "Which I will be _thanking_ you for later."

Keith let out a short chuckle. "I wasn't expecting to get a present on _your_ birthday."

"I've got plenty of love to give." Lance grinned.


	8. August - 'When you're on the beach you'

**August - "When you're on the beach you steal the show"**

* * *

There weren't many people Lance was willing to give up his beauty sleep and rise before the sun for, but it just so happened that a certain guy with a certain mullet-like haircut was one of them.

Keith had requested the early start when they'd hung out the previous evening, and Lance had agreed (with only a slight bit of grumbling).

Warm pre-dawn whipped about Lance and tugged at the backpack on his back as Keith's Yamaha sped along the I-5 through Cascade and Pike/Pine, he was in the dark about where their destination lay, and what was inside the bag he was wearing, but he had complete trust in Keith's plan. Whatever it happened to be.

Keith took Exit 167 off of the interstate, curving through the tiled and floodlit tunnel that would take them out onto Mercer Street.

The Space Needle swept into view in the distance as their journey continued, and after a short jaunt along Mercer Street, Keith turned north onto Queen Anne Avenue. The street rose ahead of them, and didn't level out until they'd reached where Queen Anne Avenue crossed Highland Drive, where Keith swung left at the intersection. The cyclist followed the tree-lined residential street until it opened out on to their left, revealing a rectangular park populated with benches and a piece of modern art comprised of a large cylinder stacked on top of a large cube, both of which were perforated by large circular holes.

Keith slowed his Yamaha to a stop in the parking bay that ran the length of Kerry Park, and stilled the engine. He slipped effortlessly off of the motorcycle and helped Lance down onto the sidewalk. Lance removed the blue motorcycle helmet Keith had gotten for him, he stifled a yawn that was _mostly_ genuine, and flashed a carefree smirk at his boyfriend.

"So… What're we doing here at the ass-end of the morning?"

"This." Keith nodded towards the far side of the thin park, where the land sloped away to reveal the Seattle skyline. Carrying their helmets, Keith led them over to the low wall which bordered the park's panoramic viewpoint. The tanned man followed his boyfriend's lead and sat down on the wall, where he trained his eyes across the city and waterfront.

The morning was dim but clear, leaving the skyline a shadowy version of itself, populated by a scattering of lit office windows, the remaining employees who were either burning the midnight oil, or getting an early start on the day's work.

Beyond Mount Rainier, the Columbia Center, the Space Needle, and Two Union Square, the sky was beginning to lighten.

"I used to come here a lot. Sometimes I just needed to clear my head, and watching the sun rise… It helped me forget what was bothering me, even if only for a little while."

Lance glanced towards the raven-haired man; Keith's focus was entirely on the scene before them. His face seemed serene in the growing, golden light, and the blue-eyed man turned back towards the cityscape. The glow of the sun was bursting through the clouds on the horizon, and it was glorious.

"Is this what this thing's for?" Lance asked, tugging the backpack strap looped around his right shoulder.

Keith turned back, an amused smirk on his face. " _That's_ for later."

* * *

They'd watched the sun rise for the better part of an hour, in that time they'd barely traded more than a dozen words, their conversation having been translated through their body language as they sat together, Lance wrapping a hand around Keith's waist. He was happy to pass the time in near-silence, seeing the calm and relaxed air his boyfriend had embodied was more than worth it.

With the new day literally dawning, Keith lead the way back to the motorcycle, where they resumed their journey heading north on the I-5. At almost a quarter past seven, there was already a steady thrum of traffic as their fellow Seattleites started heading to work.

Like before, Lance could only guess where they were heading to as they tore up the roadway.

A green sign for Edmonds Community College flipped by, and the interstate curved to the north-east. As the sky transitioned to blue at a rapid pace, Seattle slipped away behind them.

* * *

The final approach to their destination was unfamiliar to Lance, a winding and wooded route that fed through the suburban city of Edmonds. Keith brought the motorcycle to a stop in front of a pair of white barriers, and chain-link gates, both of which were closed.

Keith seemed to stare at the gates for a moment, like he hadn't been expecting them to be there.

"It's supposed to be open."

"What?" Lance asked.

"The gates, they're supposed to be open by now."

"Maybe it's the ranger's day off, or like other people, he doesn't like getting up before eight." Lance joked.

Keith hopped off of the motorcycle without saying a word, and went to crouch beside the barriers. Lance removed his helmet and knelt beside the other man, who was studying the padlocks barring their way with the kind of intensity that meant he was concocting a plan.

"Looks like we're walking from here, babe."

Keith's response was to extract something from the pocket of his red motorcycle jacket, a small leather pouch full of precision tools.

Lance blinked. "Are those lock picks?"

"You didn't see these." Keith muttered quietly as he went to work.

"Does Shiro know you have them?"

"He bought them for me."

Lance nodded thoughtfully as he processed that information. Rather than press for answers, for now, he opted to watch his boyfriend at work. After only a few minutes, Keith had the first padlock off its chain. It didn't take much longer for Keith to work his magic on the second padlock, and in little time at all, their way was now clear.

Keith's chuckle broke the silence. "They need better padlocks." He pushed opened the gates and barriers far enough to let his bike pass through, and wheeled it through the gap. As soon as they were through, he left Lance with the Yamaha and headed back to the barriers so he could lock them up again.

"In and out, like a shadow… Leaving nothing but the mystery of the Street Ninja."

"I'm not a street ninja." Keith rebutted.

"-Is just what I'd expect the Street Ninja to protect his identity." Lance countered.

Keith sighed. "On second thought, becoming your boyfriend was a bad idea."

"Come over here and say that." The blue-eyed man challenged with a smirk. Keith just shook his head and walked towards his bike. He hopped on and kick-started it.

He looked over his shoulder. "You coming?"

Lance hopped on, and they surged forward past a wooden sign:

 **Picnic Point Park**

Keith had brought him to where they'd spent his birthday.

The Yamaha crossed the parking lot in no time, where Keith brought it to a stop where the curved road joined up with an equally-curvaceous footpath. Keith silenced the engine, and the riders hopped off. "I'm gonna stow the bike behind that dumpster. In case the warden shows up."

"Breaking and entering, trespassing, and evading the _law_." Lance chuckled. "What's next, public nudity?"

"It's not that kind of date." Keith remarked as he unlocked the bike's seat cover and unhooked it. "Helmet."

Lance smirked as he handed over his headgear. Having dated Keith for as long as he had, and having known him for even longer, he knew that the other man's often blunt and grumpy demeanor hid a fiercely loyal and loving friend. Keith wasn't always a man of many words, but he had his own way of showing how much those close to him meant to him.

Keith secured the helmets via their straps to a pair of hooks fastened to the underside of the seat cover. He fitted the seat cover back into place, and gave the helmets a quick tug to check they were secure.

Satisfied, the raven-haired man pushed his bike off of the asphalt and behind the dumpster.

"So… what brings us back to the beach?"

Keith shrugged. "You like the beach, and you had fun when we came here last time. I figured we could have a picnic, or something."

Realization dawned in blue eyes. "So that's what this's for." He tugged the backpack strap again. "Awesome, should be nice."

Keith nodded. He then knelt down and held out a hand. "Could you pass the bag?"

"Sure." Lance nodded as he shrugged it off. He was silently glad to have a break from the heavy thing. Keith unzipped the backpack, and produced a pair of heavy-duty motorcycle padlocks.

Lance crossed his arms in a reflective gesture. "Huh, no wonder it weighed a ton."

Keith snapped the padlocks into place, one on each wheel, and checked them to make sure they weren't going anywhere. He rose to his feet and slung the backpack over his shoulder, favoring Lance with an affectionate half-smile. "Let's check out the sand."

Lance grasped his boyfriend's hand. "Lead the way, Street Ninja."

* * *

The air was warming up, and Picnic Point beach was currently deserted: the benefit of having chosen to visit on a weekday.  
Skipping the picnic tables close to the overpass, Keith led them down to the sand. They then followed the shoreline north for a short distance, which brought them to a more secluded part of the beach, one that was scattered with buts of driftwood as big as tree trunks.

Keith picked a spot on a sun-bleached trunk, and they sat. He swung the backpack around and unzipped it, where he produced a couple of plastic bags stuffed with food and drink.

"I didn't know what would work as picnic food, so I asked Hunk to help me make a few different things you'd probably like." He dug through one of the bags. "Ham, cheese and pickle sandwiches… And some lemonade?"

Lance grinned as he accepted the offered food. "Looks great. Thanks, babe."

Keith nodded. "We also made some dessert. Dulce… Dulcy… Dosey doe…"

Lance's eyes brightened. " _Dulce de Toronja_!?"

"Yeah. That." Keith laughed. "I wanted to make something bigger, but Hunk talked me down because of my backpack."

Lance laughed amiably. "This's fine, seriously. I would've been happy with store-bought cupcakes… You didn't have to do all this."

Keith shrugged, that half-smile on his face again. "I wanted to."

Lance scooted closer, and gave his boyfriend a peck on the cheek. "I love you for wanting to."

Lance set to work unwrapping the Clingfilm that protected his sandwiches. As he took an experimental bite from his own, he watched as Keith pulled out what looked like a pair of chicken and lettuce sandwiches for himself. The sandwiches Keith had prepared were tasty, and he let him know as much: "These are pretty good."

"Thank Hunk, he suggested what ingredients and sauces to use."

"I will, but you still made them… That's like, a major part of sandwich-making. Sandwiches are only so-good if your heart's not in it."

Keith let out a quiet laugh at the remark, and Lance was happy to chalk that up as a victory.

The two men settled in to enjoy their seaside picnic, set to the rumbling soundtrack of a freight train running along the tracks bisecting the park.

* * *

"Mmmmmm." Lance hummed happily. He was leant against Keith, who had a hand wrapped around his boyfriend's waist. Initiating physical shows of affection was still a learning process for Keith, but despite his initial caution and uncertainty, he'd grown more relaxed in his embrace with Lance. "This is nice." The smile he had entered his voice. "And so was the picnic. For future reference you make a mean sandwich, and some _really_ good _Dulce de Toronja_."

Keith laughed, and the chuckle vibrated through Lance. "They were only good because Hunk helped me. Without him, the Dulcee…Dulce de… Dulce de Toronja would've been terrible. And it was just a ham and cheese sandwich."

"Dude, it _wasn't_ _just_ a ham and cheese sandwich. You had the perfect ratio of ham to cheese, and the pickles weren't too strong or weak. And what did I say about you putting your heart into it?"

Keith grimaced. "Heart sandwich, yuck."

"I'm being serious here." Lance grinned.

Keith smirked, choosing not to go for the obvious bait. "I just followed Hunk's instructions."

"Yeah, but in addition to your heart you also imbued my sandwich with your special ninja powers. You're a street ninja _and_ a sandwich ninja!"

That got a breathy laugh out of Keith. "That… That isn't how any of that works. And 'imbued'?"

Lance made a scoffing noise. "I may play dumb some of the time, but I'm smarter than I look."

"Uh-huh." Keith smirked.

"I was paying you compliments, mullet."

" _Ridiculous_ compliments." Keith pointed out.

"They're still compliments." Lance mock-pouted. The effort only lasted for a grand total of ten seconds before the look vanished, and he reached over to gently tilt Keith's head to face him. "Thanks for this." He leant in, and pressed a soft kiss to Keith's lips.

Keith flushed, and returned the affection.

They traded quick kisses, slow kisses, playful kisses and French kisses for a while. Keith reluctantly broke away, and stood up from their driftwood loveseat.

Lance braced his palms on the log and leant back, he regarded his boyfriend with a love-struck smile. "Thinking of heading?"

"Not yet." Keith responded, and unzipped his motorcycle jacket. "It's starting to get really hot, fancy going for a swim?"

Lance let out a short laugh. "I hope you swiped some of my swim shorts before we left, because once again I haven't brought any. I'm happy to go swimming if you're happy with me skinny dipping."

Keith suddenly gave Lance a daring look as he dropped the red leather jacket onto the sand. "That's okay. I don't have any swimming shorts with me either."

Lance gaped for a moment, and he felt his pulse quicken as Keith began to pull his black T-shirt off over his head. The hem of the shirt slid away, revealing the lean muscles of Keith's stomach, as well as the trail of fine black hairs that flowed down from his navel until they vanished beneath the waistband of his black jeans.

The T-shirt quickly joined his jacket, not that Lance really noticed.

"You gonna keep sitting there?"

Lance trained an appreciative look across Keith's body. "Sorry, was admiring the view."

"Yeah?" Keith replied - there was that breathy chuckle again. "How's it looking now?" He then took off in a jog.

* * *

Despite the head start, Lance had lost the race along the beach to the submerged pier and back. They were crashed out on the sand, Lance's head laying in Keith's lap so he could stare up at the clouds drifting across the sky.

"You know, I used to think I was pretty wild when it came to the stuff _I_ got up to on the beach, but compared to you, I'm a noob."

Keith smirked. "You've never streaked on a beach?"

"Once. At midnight. When I was alone. Streaking along a beach with someone else is new for me."

Keith's breathy laugh returned. "Glad to have helped."

"What can I say? When you're on the beach, you steal the show. Seeing as we're talking about getting nude, I thought this 'wasn't that kind of date'?"

Keith shrugged. "I wanted to see the look on your face."

"Was it worth it?"

Keith chuckled. "What do you think?"

* * *

Drying each other up took almost twice as long thanks to the lengthy kisses Keith and Lance continued to share. By the time the clock on Lance's phone reached nine in the morning, they were dressed and ready to head back to the city.

They walked hand-in-hand back along the overpass, luxuriating in the tiring but fun morning on the beach. Keith's motorcycle was stood patiently where they'd left it.

Keith worked on unhooking the seat cover, whilst Lance watched. He languidly stretched and rested his hands behind his head. Keith held his red Scorpion Exo 490 helmet by the visor opening, whilst he proffered the blue Box BX1 to Lance. The tanned man accepted the helmet, and mused as he turned it over in his hands.

"Can we do this again sometime?"

"Sure." Keith shrugged. "We can even do it for your next birthday if you want."

Lance chuckled. "As long as the others aren't here to watch. Seeing as we're talking about birthday presents, you got any ideas what you'd like?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah?" Lance enquired.

"Yeah." Keith nodded. He stepped closer, and rested a hand on Lance's hip.

"What did you have in mind?" Lance returned, draping his arms (plus helmet) across Keith's shoulders.

"Well…" He trailed off teasingly.

" _Whatever_ you want, babe."

Keith gave Lance a mischievous smirk. "What I'd like… Is one of those helmets that looks like the Predator's mask."

Lance stared in surprise for a moment, and then leveled his boyfriend with a flat glare. "Not cool mullet."


	9. September - 'I light the candles at your

**September - "I light the candles at your sweet sixteen"**

* * *

The air was cool and the skies bright but cloudy as Lance waited in the driver's seat of his blue 2001 Toyota Echo. He stifled a yawn as that morning's light rain splattered silently against the windshield; it was another early start… Although he'd be lying if he said he wouldn't be taking a bit of comfort from knowing he wasn't going to be having as bad a morning as some people he could mention.

And speak of the devil, the Shirogane/Kogane stepbrothers materialized in the shade of the doorway to Shiro's apartment building. They were both dressed in jogging clothes, with a backpack slung over their shoulder.

Lance slipped out of the car and joined them at the doorway. "Hey guys." He greeted, and leant over to kiss Keith on the cheek. He also took the opportunity to check out his boyfriend, sporting an old pair of black sneakers, black shorts, a black tank top (currently covered by a lightweight windbreaker), fingerless leather gloves, and adding a dash of colour were a set of matching red sweatbands on his wrists and forehead. For the occasion, Keith's hair had been tied up into a ponytail.

It was enough to make Lance willing to take a jog with him around Lake Sammamish, but they had a prior engagement they needed to get to.

"Thanks for picking us up." Shiro smiled.

Lance made a dismissive wave. "Pshaw, it's no problem. I got a text from Pidge a few minutes ago saying they're on their way in Hunk's car."

Shiro nodded. "Then we'd better get moving."

Lance moved over to open the front-passenger door so he could slide the seat forward. Keith settled into the back of the car, whilst Shiro sat shotgun. Keith had always insisted Shiro get priority whenever they were travelling in Lance's car.  
With his passengers in situ, Lance flopped into the driver's seat, strapped in, and retrieved a scrap of paper from one of the cubbyholes either side of the car's stereo. He studied it for a moment, and began to type an address into his SATNAV.

 _"Turn right in. Three. Hundred. Yards."_ The device instructed.

"Alright, look Marmorites, you're about to get wrecked by the Broganes!" Lance grinned, and ignited Azul's engine.

* * *

The journey from Beacon Hill to Union Hill-Novelty Hill had lasted almost forty minutes, and by the time the dashboard clock told them it was seven-thirty, they were making their way along Northeast Carnation Farm Road. The ride had been relatively smooth and enjoyable, thanks to the absence of office workers jamming up the city streets, and Lance's playlist rotating via the aux jack plugged into his phone.

The pecan-haired man was in a pretty good mood as he joined the queue of vehicles lined up at a turnoff on the road, just past the main buildings of the farm. Stood gently swaying in the breeze were purple banners advertising the day's feature attraction:

 **THE TRIALS OF MARMORA**

The event was a major part of the 'Broganes' calendar, a physical fitness event which saw them spend the better part of an hour scaling log traverses, tyre runs, rope walls, apex climbs, fire strips, barbed wire, and enough mud to leave you _almost_ covered head to toe, which wasn't a possibility, but a certainty.  
The obstacle course was spread out across three miles of countryside, ending at the festival which rolled a live D.J., a large photo backdrop, food and drinks, junior training, and finisher's celebration into one huge after-party.

Lance was directed up a snaking field road, and into a large grassy clearing that had been designated as the parking lot for the event. He pulled Azul into an empty spot, and shut off the engine.  
The three of them slipped out of the car, and took a moment to stretch and take stock of their surroundings.

"I think I can see Hunk's car." Keith remarked, and pointed a fingerless-gloved hand towards the distinctive canary-yellow Ford Escape.

"Awesome. I'll give them a call and see where they're at." Lance grabbed his phone from the car and pulled up Hunk's contact.

 _"Hey buddy, how's it going?"_

Lance grinned. "We've just parked up. Where're you guys?"

 _"Still at my car, just getting a few last things together."_

"Hold on, I think I can see you." Lance began to wave wildly towards the other car. He temporarily put his phone against his chest to muffle it. "Hunk! Hey, Hunk! Over here!"

A figure that could only be Hunk popped it's head around the side of the vehicle, and waved back.

Keith and Shiro shared an amused look, before they went back to their preparations. Lance returned the phone to his ear: "We'll be right over in a couple of minutes."

 _"Take your time, see you guys in a bit."_

Lance turned his attention back to his companions. "How's it going over here?"

"Almost ready to go." Shiro reported with an emphatic final tug on his shoe laces, past experience had taught the stepbrothers that double-knotting them was always recommendable. "And done."

Royal blue eyes shifted to the other man in the group. "Hey, how's it going down there?"

"I don't know, how's the air up there?"

Lance chuckled. "Cute. You good to go?"

"Uh, not really." Keith responded, he raised what looked like a black length of string into Lance's eye-line. It was the snapped third of one of his sneaker laces.

The opportunity was too perfect. "Some people would say that's fixable, but I'm a frayed knot." Keith looked genuinely surprised by the joke, which lasted all of four seconds before he turned a mean glower on his boyfriend.

"Because of that, I'm gonna push you into the mud."

"Don't even think about it, lace murderer." Lance fired back.

"Here you go." Shiro stepped over, handing Keith a fresh lace and a pocket knife to cut the remaining knotted section.

"That's _knot_ how you remove a broken lace."

Keith let out a frustrated groan. "Lance, I swear to whatever God made you…"

* * *

Lance, Shiro and Keith made their way towards Hunk's car. Crowded around it, evidently waiting for them to arrive, were Hunk, Pidge, Allura and Coran, all of whom, like Lance, were dressed for a day spent out and about in nature.

"Hey guys." The grey-eyed man grinned.

"We were starting to wonder what had happened to you." Allura smiled in greeting.

"I'm sure our combined efforts would have located them in no time." Coran mused, twisting his moustache thoughtfully.

"We were just…" Lance paused to glance at his boyfriend. "Tying up loose ends."

"I'm leaving." Keith grumbled and made an exaggerated move to leave.

"Whilst Keith's _mostly_ joking, he's also right… We'd better be heading off to grab our race packets."

"We'll try see you off from the starting line." The white-haired woman added.

"And we'll meet up with you again at the finish line." Pidge added.

"Yeah. Good luck on your run, guys." Hunk chipped in.

"And try to avoid the mud!" Coran suggested, prompting the group to laugh.

"See you guys later." Shiro nodded, and he joined Keith as they headed towards the event tables.

"See you at the start line, Ninja!" Lance shouted, and Keith briefly turned to fire back an awkward wave.

They watched the figures retreat into the distance for a few minutes, before they too set off towards the cluster of stalls, tables, tents, and the blast of music that comprised the _Trials of Marmora_ festival.

"Man…" Hunk noted, awed. "Every year they're as pumped for Marmora as if it was their first… How long have they been doing this now?"

"Shiro's been running it since he was eighteen. Keith's been doing it seven years now." Lance answered.

Hunk let that knowledge sink in. "Wow. I don't know how they haven't gotten tired from doing it so long."

"They change the layout and the obstacles every year or so, which helps keep it fresh." The bespectacled spectator pointed out.

"Plus, you know Shiro, he's always up for a challenge… And Keith…" Lance laughed fondly. "He's a classic adrenaline freak."

Pidge smirked. "I hadn't noticed."

Lance glanced down at his shorter friend. "You guys get up to much for Saint Hildegard this year?"

Pidge beamed. "It was amazing! Dad took us to this pizzeria in Whittier Heights where they have a wood-fired oven, and it really gave the crusts this…" Their hands waved about for a word.

"Volume? Crispiness?" Hunk suggested.

"Yes!" Pidge pointed at him excitedly. "Both of those! The crusts on store-bought pizza just seem so weak and doughy in comparison. It's like comparing Matt to Shiro in terms of physical build."

Lance laughed. "Does Matt know you compare him to Shiro?"

Pidge shrugged. "All the time."

"Man, I could go for some of their Charcuterie, or some of their sausage pizza right about now." Hunk mused.

"'Fraid it's pre-packed sandwiches and semi-cold cola, big guy." Pidge commiserated.

"A dream deferred is a dream denied." Hunk sighed sadly. He then brightened as an idea settled in: "Maybe we should go there for a double date some time, you and Keith and me and Shay?"

Lance nodded. "Sure. Keith would probably jump at a chance to have a pizza that isn't made by Domino's."

"Aren't you the one who usually suggests Domino's as an option?" Pidge enquired pointedly.

"Lies. It's all vicious lies." Lance joking deflected.

The journey through the festival revealed a handful of things that caught their eye, such as the Blade Store, the beer garden, _The Mettle of the Blade_ (an off-course challenge that tested a participant's endurance by supporting their own weight with steady rings), a tug-of-war, and what appeared to be the start of a costume contest. Through past experience they'd seen that there was plenty for participants and spectators to take part in.

They reached the plastic tape marking the edge of the spectator area. There were about a dozen or so people clustered about, waiting for the first wave to begin. Most of the other onlookers were still over at the festival, or had picked their spots by the finishing line.

"So, any bets on who'll finish first?" Lance asked.

"It feels a little unsavory to bet on our friends." Allura chimed in thoughtfully. "But… I believe Shiro will be the victor."

Lance made a dismissive sound. "Shiro's a power-house, but he's no competition to the Street Ninja."

"I hate to speak bad of Keith, obviously, but Shiro has the greater experience. He's been doing this longer… As we established a while ago."

"And Keith's always given one-hundred percent whenever he's made the run." Their bespectacled friend pointed out.

"Team Punk has broken, and in its place stands Team Pince!" Lance grinned.

Pidge rolled their eyes. "For the record, I never agreed to 'Team Pince'… Though it's better than 'Team Pance'."

"Team… Allurunk… Backs Shiro to win!" Hunk grinned, though it wobbled a little on the team name.

Coran looked between his four friends. "In the name of sportsmanship and fair play, I'll side with hoping they just have a good time. It's not important who wins… What is important is the journey you take getting there."

They continued to chat amongst themselves until Pidge, following a check on the time on their phone, announced: "Ten to eight."

"There they are!" Allura called out, and the distinctive profiles of Keith and Shiro trekked across the grassy field. The two of them were now shirtless, with their race bibs pinned to their shorts. Shiro grinned broadly and nodded as he spotted the group, the two stepbrothers approached their crowd.

Keith and Shiro handed their bags across the barrier tape, it had become an agreed-on tradition that those watching would look after the belongings of those racing.

"Thanks, guys." Shiro nodded.

"Yeah." Keith agreed.

"Knock them dead, Babe." Lance rallied.

"Not literally." Pidge smirked. "Leave them in your dust."

"Take these amateurs to school." Allura spurred-on brightly.

"Yeah, kick their butts!" Hunk cheered, then added a moment later: "In as friendly and competitive way as possible, I mean."

"Hear, hear." Coran agreed with a broad smile.

"We will." Keith grinned, and he shared a nod with his stepbrother. They took their positions amongst the other racers… The other 'Blades', as the event organizers referred to them.

The mood of the weather shifted as eight a.m. approached, as if it too were getting ready for the race. The overcast sky finally followed through on its threat, and a light rain began to fall whilst the wind picked up.

Toward the starting line, a grey-haired and grim-faced man wearing a violet-blue-coloured hoodie stepped up to a metal platform. Even from there, they could make out the _Trials of Marmora_ logo printed in eggplant-coloured ink on the man's clothing.  
The stern announcer raised a microphone to his mouth as he addressed the crowd: "The Trials of Marmora is a challenge, a test of endurance, skill and patience… Spread across thirteen obstacles over three miles of open country. These trials result in one of two things: success or failure. Blades, are you ready to test yourselves and triumph?"

 _"Yes!"_ The competitors responded resolutely in-near unison. Almost every participant in the opening competitive wave appeared to be a veteran of the event.

"You may run the challenge, but the greatest challenge is knowing when to stop."

The sound of a lion's roar played over the loudspeakers, and on either end of the starting line,, a pair of fire machines flared into life, sending bursts of flame into the air.

The race had started, and the Blades were off.

* * *

Keith and Shiro maintained a relaxed jog as they put the starting line behind them.

"Ready for this, old man?" Keith smirked.

"Only if you think you've got the stamina, shorty." Shiro chuckled back.

The path curved towards a small cluster of rectangular industrial buildings and metal silos. From there, the Broganes crossed Northeast Carnation Farm Road and followed it eastwards, jogging on the verge with the other competitors. A little over two-hundred feet along the road, the pack of racers turned off at a gate with a giant purple arrow pointing toward it, and they entered the leafy shade of the adjacent woods.

As they jogged, a sign staked into the ground proclaimed:

 **YOU ARE NOT MEANT TO CROSS THAT FINISH LINE**

Keith smirked to himself, the 'motivational' signs never changed.

After several minutes of jogging along the straight path through the trees, the woods broke away as they entered a clearing. Ahead of them stood the first obstacle: _The Warzone_.

 _The Warzone_ was comprised of three mini-obstacles, a triangular wooden inclining wall, followed by a barb-wire crawl, and a second inclining wall that bookended the far end. Shiro's height and greater strength had him quickly up and over the first inclined wall, but Keith's nimbleness and energy had him in close pursuit. Each man crossed the crawl section at equal pace, and both landed on the far side of the second inclined barrier at roughly the same time.

The race path curved through a pair of long, low outbuildings for the farm. Ahead of Keith and Shiro, the ground dropped into _The Entrenched Soil_ , a pair of muddy pools, separated by three mounds of soil.  
The two men charged through the obstacle, Keith managed to avoid the worst of the mud thanks to a quick bit of jumping, whilst Shiro, who sought to preserve his energy by sticking to the ground, earned a splattering of mire up to his shins.

The Broganes jogged on, ignoring the hydration station and proceeded to a stretch of roadway. As the road swept southwards it butted up against a cluster of farm buildings, and then led out into the nearby fields. The failed surface of the road crunched beneath their sneakers as it briefly wove eastwards, and then sharply curved southwards.

The younger man grinned as the sign advertising the next challenge flipped by, he had a chance to win some ground against his brother. The route the stepbrothers followed veered off the road and onto the adjacent pastures to the north, taking them along a dirt path towards the third obstacle.

 _The Blade's Edge_ was an apex ladder: a twenty-foot obstacle where they had to scale a sloped side, hope over a short wall, and climb down a vertical side that was affixed with rungs along the upper half, and a sheer face on the lower portion.  
Keith was the first to reach the structure, but Shiro pressed forward to quickly move into the lead.

"How's the view down there?" Shiro quipped.

"Dunno, why don't you tell me?" Keith returned as he scrambled up the rungs on the upward side. He wasted little time at the apex of the apex, and kicked off the paneled side whilst halfway-down.

Shiro reached the ground almost a minute after his stepbrother, and put in a quicker pace to close the gap between them. "One of these days… You're going to roll your ankle doing that."

"If it happens, it happens." The raven-haired man made as much of a shrugging movement as he could whilst running.

They were just over a quarter of the way into the trials, and from there the challenges would be getting tougher.

* * *

From _The Blade's Edge_ , Keith and Shiro jogged westwards until they reached the tree-line, and from there they followed it until they reached a new dirt path, and they followed that until they returned to the stony roadway.  
Ahead of them, the smoldering glow and waft of smoke heralded the next obstacle: _Kral Zera_ (Sacred Flame).

This was the challenge Keith had found to be the most underwhelming, in a race of mud ditches, climbs, pulls and crawls, a line of burning logs stretched across the path seemed utterly anti-climactic.

The Broganes leapt the flames with unchallenged ease.

"That challenge still sucks."

"I know, I know…"

"Can't you say something to Kolivan?"

"The last time I asked him about it, he mentioned that there were a number of reasons why it couldn't be as big as the other obstacles, ensuring participant safety was one of the main ones."

"It just seems such a waste given the whole 'warrior trials' image they're trying to create."

"This might sound overly-sentimental, but I'm glad it's not over the top… I don't want to see you burned to a crisp."

There was some weight to the argument that _Kral Zera_ was only there to lure the competitors into a false sense of security, for further along the route, back on the farmland, lay the intimidating _Ascent of the Blade_. A thirty-foot triangular prism where the participants scaled one side with the help of ropes, and descended with the help of rungs.

Keith had the initial lead up the ascent, but Shiro stole ahead of the younger man thanks to his greater upper-body strength. As Keith scrambled over the top to clamber back down, Shiro calmly worked his way down the rungs. Upon touching the ground he walked backwards and winked at Keith. "A little effort with a bench press or some press-ups can work wonders."

Keith swore under his breath and hopped down the wooden rungs.

The woods made a return, and their path meandered and weaved as it curved northwards, back towards the road and the starting line.

The two runners broke out into a clearing, which revealed the next course obstacle: _The Slipped Knot_. Keith had just caught up with Shiro as the man with the undercut waded across a knee-high moat of brown water, the official start of the obstacle, which consisted of a series of plastic chutes laid out on the ground, with a crisscross of ropes suspended above them on a wooden frame.

Keith pushed across the water and turned around, allowing himself to drop onto his back in the plastic chute. He grasped the ropes above him, and pulled himself along the plastic path, chasing Shiro along the five-hundred-and-eighty-foot obstacle.

They emerged on the far end, Shiro in the lead, but with Keith nipping at his heels.

* * *

The racers were now officially reaching the half-way point, and ahead of Shiro and Keith lay a brand-new obstacle:

 _Kusarigama_ , which upon first sighting appeared to be the bastard child of a set of balance beams, a ramp climb, and metal chains strung across the metal support structure.

"That's new." Keith remarked as they drew up to the structure.

"I know what you're thinking, don't even try it." Shiro warned.  
They reached the chains, and proceeded to use them to make their way up the incline facing them. The going was slow, due to the precarious nature of the links, and all the while Shiro knew that Keith just wanted to get this challenge over and done with.  
"Patience yields focus." The older man reminded, already sensing Keith's impatience bubbling.

They reached the top of the metal pyramid, from there it was the same way back down.

Naturally, Keith had other ideas.

The younger man's arms sprang out to steady his balance, and he began to walk the narrow metal structural beam down to the ground.

Shiro briefly hesitated, taken back by his brother's recklessness. "Keith!"

"Sorry Shiro, but it was taking too long."

The moment Keith's feet touched the soil, Shiro had only progressed a third of the way down. He shook his head ruefully as he continued to descend the obstacle.

Keith skirted the edge of a mossy pond that veered on the size of an Olympic swimming pool, the path of the trails took him counter-clockwise around the body of water towards the eighth obstacle of the course.

 _The Drifting Shards_ was a challenge that threw unpredictability into the mix, consisting of a rectangular wooden truss frame, from which were suspended three rows of seven platforms.  
The tethers that supported the platforms allowed them to shift and sway against the participant's momentum and center of gravity, forcing them to take navigate the obstacle slowly in order to progress safely.

Keith fought his urge to take the challenge too quickly. Shiro's earlier caution came to mind, as well as the knowledge that a measured approach would give his stepbrother a chance to chop up his lead.

The raven-haired man deftly climbed onto his first platform, and used his momentum to swing it forward as far as he could - closing the gap to the next platform, and allowing him to step across.  
He was moving toward the third platform in the line when Shiro climbed onto the obstacle behind him.

Once again, the older man used his greater physical volume to his advantage; throwing it into the swing to rock the suspended platforms further, and close in on Keith.

By the time the younger man was making his effort to move on to the sixth platform in his line, Shiro was swinging towards the fifth in his.

The moment Keith stepped off of the final platform of the _Drifting Shards_ , Shiro was only half a step behind him and narrowing the ground fast.  
Of course, now that he didn't have to worry about the ground shifting beneath his feet, Keith could also unleash the throttle once more.

* * *

The returning leg of the course trail wound through the main buildings of the Carnation Farms property, and under the roadway via an access tunnel. As Keith and Shiro emerged from the darkness into the light, the finish line would soon be visible, rather than an abstract concept.

The ninth obstacle, _Luxite Grip_ , lay ahead. The main structure was a wooden truss, similar to _Drifting Shards_ , but hung within its perimeter were four swaying, double-sided frames with rock climbing handgrips. _Luxite Grip_ was a test of grip, balance and constitution.

Keith and Shiro were roughly equal in speed and skill as they traversed the challenge, having spent plenty of time over the years at Parkour Visions and Momentum Rock Climbing back in the city.

"Just like old times, right?" Shiro grinned as they inched from one end to the other.

"Child's play." Keith agreed.

They hopped off the frame at the far end, and left some of their fellow competitors behind.

Shiro and Keith were now feeling the physical exertion from the challenges, their lungs sucked greedily at the air whilst their legs and arms began to burn from lactic buildup.  
They had enough to make it through the final quartet with a bit to spare afterwards for the final dash… Whichever way they played the closing leg of the obstacle course, they both knew they were going to be feeling the day's exertion in the morning.

Towering ahead of them was _The Water of Knowledge_ , a combination of an apex ladder and a light downpour, provided by water jets mounted to a pair of wooden trusses at the near and far ends of the ladder. The water sprayed out and soaked the surface of the apex, which was suspended over another pool of dirty-coloured water.

The obstacle provided the test of having to grapple with the sodden structure, introducing chance and a degree of luck late into the game which had been largely fought with skill, speed and agility.

Keith and Shiro jogged towards the waist-deep water and dropped in, each man aiming to reach the treacherous incline first.

Keith was the first to haul himself out of the water, but the unpredictable nature of the obstacle came to life, and his grip slipped, sending him back into the pool.  
He spluttered as he pulled himself back up to start again. Shiro was about half-way up the apex when his sneaker slipped, and he slid back about a foot. He braced himself against the frame and pushed forward.

The grey-eyed man was still in the lead as he pressed on over the tip of the apex, and Keith's impatience led to a minor slip of his own, before he too had surmounted the summit.

The younger man clambered down the apex as quickly as he could risk, trying not to focus too much on Shiro's increasingly distant figure as he hauled himself out of the water and back onto semi-dry land.

He caught sight of his stepbrother as the older man dropped into a crouch and clambered under a purple canvas branded with the _Trials of Marmora_ logo, and disappeared into a trench. Keith arrived at _Down to Earth_ a half-minute later, and progressed down into an earthen channel.

He crept forward through the ankle-high layer of mire as quickly as he could, the need to make up on the time lost against his stepbrother driving him on through the trench.

The channel had cut through the soil in a straight line for about twenty feet, where it then ended in what looked like a T-junction. Keith wasted no time in considering the options and just ducked right, and then left again into a new length of tunnel on an offset. If he'd made the wrong choice, he'd deal with it if and when it came.

Another twenty feet of crawling, and he was bursting out into the overcast light… Right beside Shiro!

"And here I was worried I'd lost you!" The man with the undercut chuckled.

Keith smirked. "You have to try harder if you want to shake me."

There wasn't any doubt about where the next and penultimate course obstacle would be, it was the biggest bastard yet.

 _The Tail's Sting_ : An obstacle that towered over the fields surrounding it, an unholy mutant lovechild of the _Trial of Marmora_ 's greatest hits: _The Blade's Edge_ , _Slipped Knot_ , and a little bit of _Kral Zera_ for seasoning.

Starting with another mud moat, the first part of _The Tail's Sting_ was a two-level structure shaped roughly like an L, constructed of shipping containers.  
Participants could ascend to the first level either by a wooden ladder, or pull themselves up the apex climb with the help of a rope.  
The ascent to the second level was via a wooden ladder, albeit almost the entire width of the whole structure.  
From the top, the racers would then slide down a plastic chute to the base of the obstacle on their backs, passing under a line of flames erected above them.

Keith and Shiro had gotten this far without taking the easy option, so they both went for the rope climb as soon as they'd pulled themselves from the moat.

The Broganes fought to keep in step as much as they could with the other, pulling from what remained of their energy to rob the other of any lead they'd started to build.

They scrambled up the final ladder, their arm muscles protesting at the ongoing effort and strain.

There was no time to admire the view from the top, as quickly as they could they hopped onto the plastic chutes and slid back down to terra firma.  
The two men were at ground level in moments, and hopping off as quickly as possible to make it to the final challenge: _Rebirth_.

The thirteenth challenge was simple in its execution: A one-hundred-foot-long ditch dug into the earth, filled with mud and strung overhead with low-hanging lengths of barb wire, designed exclusively to ensure anyone passing through would get covered almost head-to-toe in mire.

Shiro was ready to give the last leg of the _Trials of Marmora_ his all, and he knew Keith wasn't going to give up. The older man led the charge into the pit of sludge, and his stepbrother went in straight after him.

They worked and pushed themselves, burning through their reserves as they ploughed across the pit with their fellow Blades. Their legs joined their arms in protest, and what wasn't coated in mud was slick with sweat.

It was quite possibly the most disgusting either man had felt… But it'd be worth it.

They neared the edge of the pit, and the rush from the knowledge that they were nearly at the race's end spurred them on. They clambered out of the muck and up the sodden incline back up to the topsoil, and made a last dash for the visible structure of the finish line.

Victory was within each stepbrother's grasp, here were Shiro and Keith, neck-and-neck and pushing each other to the end.

* * *

"There they are!" Pidge bellowed, drawing their attention to the stretch connecting the final obstacle with the finishing line.

"Who's in the lead?" Lance asked, peering towards the two muck-splattered runners.

"Both of them!" Hunk reported in awe.

The Broganes were footsteps from the line when Keith seemed to get a sudden surge of last-moment energy, and pulled forward enough to cross a second before Shiro.

The two men darted past, and began to lose traction as they let themselves wind down. Lance, Pidge, Hunk, Allura and Coran quickly made their way over to join up with the exhausted men. As the group approached their friends, Keith flopped like a ragdoll onto the ground with a groan, and Shiro eased himself to sit down in the grass.

"Oowwwww." Keith observed.

"Seconded." Shiro agreed.

"You guys are nuts, but it looks like you had a good time." Pidge remarked with an amused smirk.

Shiro grinned a tired smile. "We did." Keith gave them a thumbs up.

"And it looks like you guys have enough mud on you to give most of the sorority girls in Seattle a facial."

Keith managed to somehow sit up and then pull himself back onto his feet. "Speaking of facials." He remarked, making his way over to Lance.

"Nope! Don't even think of trying it!" Lance balked and quickly backed away.

The tanned man made an inhuman screeching sound as Keith planted a mud-stained kiss on the side of his face, smearing the splatters from his cheeks and jaws from the last challenge.

Lance pulled away from the embrace to the laughter of their gathered friends. "You're lucky you're my boyfriend and you're cute… Even when you're fucking _covered_ in mud."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Shiro and Keith had collected their medals (purple enamel affairs that replicated the angular blade-like shapes of the event logo) and participant swag, posed for photos in front of the eight-foot tall photo backdrop, and were now in the shower station, washing off the worst of the mud that they were caked in.  
Lance, after Keith had brought him over briefly to rinse the mire from his face, waited patiently nearby with their towels and bags of clothes.

Keith's sweatbands, and both runners' sneakers were still going to need some TLC after they got back to the city, but for the most part the Broganes were now clean. Lance handed a faded black towel out to Shiro.

"Thanks." The grey-eyed man accepted the offering and started to dry off. Keith took a moment to wring out his hair, before he accepted the frayed red towel he'd brought.

The raven-haired man flashed a tired smile. "Thanks."

"It's the least I can do for my super-hot boyfriend."

"Super-hot? Even when I was wearing half a field?"

Lance shrugged. "You looked a lot better after that little show you put on during your shower."

"You want a real show? You can watch me the next time I'm taking a proper shower."

Lance smirked, and settled his hands on Keith's damp hips, making it harder for the other man to actually dry off. "Why only watch when I can wash your back for you? As well as other parts I like?"

Keith rolled his eyes, but his mouth was curved with amusement. "How romantic."

"One kiss you two, then we have to get back to the others." Shiro quipped in good humor as he drifted past.

Lance watched his boyfriend's stepbrother disappear in the distance, before turning back to Keith with a smile. "He didn't say it had to be a quick kiss."

* * *

It was around half-past nine that morning when they grabbed a spot at a metal folding table at the event festival, the Broganes gratefully sat down on the provided chairs as their friends settled in with them, each man tiredly but proudly wearing their competitor's T-shirts. Around them, more and more of their fellow blades were taking part in the merry atmosphere.

There was a healthy chatter between Hunk, Pidge, Lance, Coran and Allura, but for Shiro and Keith, they were taking some time to rest and recharge with the help of the food and drink provided by their friends, and the _Trials of Marmora_ organizers.

A pair of men approached the table, one of them was the announcer from earlier. Like the announcer, the other man was dressed in a branded hoodie, and was someone Keith recognized.

Shiro set his food down and wiped his hands off on some paper napkins so he could greet the two men. The stern man was dark-skinned, with tufts of grey hair. A prominent scar ran from his forehead down to his lower lip on the right-side of his face.

The other man was white, with a thin, angular face, a short silver Mohawk, and a thoughtful countenance.

"Kolivan! Ulaz! Great to see you!"

"It's good to see you and Keith again. I trust you and your friends are enjoying yourselves?" The man with the scar, Kolivan, welcomed.

Shiro affirmed: "We are."

Ulaz, the man with the Mohawk, smiled and clasped Shiro's forearm in a friendly gesture. "I was certain we'd see you and your brother at some point… You're almost as much a part of the fabric of the trials now as the obstacles."

Shiro chuckled. "I guess we are a little single-minded when it comes to Marmora. How's Thace? Is he around?"

The South-African shook his head. "He probably won't be here until this afternoon, there was a scheduling conflict with his self-defense class. He's well however, we had our third anniversary this June."

Shiro's brows rose. "Three years already? Where's the time gone?"

"The Trials will be marking its tenth anniversary next year." Kolivan noted.

"Wow." Shiro remarked, a little in awe.

"Time certainly flies when you're enjoying yourselves." Allura remarked thoughtfully. "And I have no doubt the two of you will continue to return until you're physically unable to compete."

Shiro shrugged. "Basically, yeah."

"Until we get too old or lose a limb, or something." Keith mused out loud.

"We should get Shiro a cake for his twenty-first run… And another for Keith's 'sweet sixteen'." Hunk grinned.

Lance nudged his boyfriend. "Guess I'll have to light the candles for yours."

Keith gave him a thoughtful look. "Yeah? Will you be blowing them out for me as well?"

Lance shrugged, a dangerous smirk curving his lips. "Don't know… Though I'm sure something will get blown."

Pidge made a face. "Seriously? Right in front of my salad here?"


	10. October - 'Romeo and Juliet on Halloween

**October - "Romeo and Juliet on Halloween"**

* * *

A cool breeze stirred the autumn-cast leaves that remained affixed to their trees, the fall season was now dug-in and not letting go anytime soon. The longer nights, chilled winds and foggy days helped to set the perfect tone for Halloween, less than a week away.

Which was, in part, the reason why Lance and Keith were out and about on a cloudy October night, walking past Parrington Lawn. They were on their way to visit the University Mortuary.

The University Mortuary was a haunted house, based in a repurposed two-storey commercial building in Seattle's University District. The attraction had become a staple in the city's calendar over the past several years, opening its doors in late September, and closing for the season in the second week of November.

The exterior of the office building had been dressed up with an appropriate selection of decor, including faux-rusting signs, cobwebs, bloody handprints, fake boarded up windows, flickering lights, and even a vintage-looking hearse.

Even though the hour was getting late, there was still a healthy crowd waiting to be let in at 9:30p.m.

Lance led the way towards the ticket booth that had been set up at one end of the building. A member of the attraction staff, dressed in a dirty and bloody orderly's uniform, greeted them with a pale and withdrawn face (thanks to the wonders of modern stage makeup).

"Welcome to the University Mortuary, are you here for a viewing?"

"Yep."

"Very good." The male crew member nodded. "Viewings are twenty-four dollars each."

Lance handed over the cash, and the orderly passed a pair of tickets through the window. "The mortuary Director would like to apologise for the state of the facilities… Good cleaning help is hard to find…" The 'orderly' allowed themself a dry chuckle. "… _Alive_. If the sights you see within the mortuary become too… _Distressing_ … Please proceed towards the nearest exit."

Lance and Keith nodded. "We will."

"Yeah." The raven-haired man agreed.

"Have a good fright." The orderly bid them farewell, and Lance laughed as they joined the queue.

"So… Happy _after_ -Birthday!" The tanned man grinned.

Keith looked amused. "You already gave me a present on Tuesday; you didn't have to pay for this as well."

Lance smirked. "And I'm not gonna miss a chance to spoil you a little, especially as you're such a big fan of haunted houses."

"Shiro told you, didn't he?"

Lance theatrically avoided his gaze. "My sources will remain anonymous. Anyway, consider this the _other_ half of your birthday present from me."

Keith smiled. "Thanks, Lance."

The tanned man smiled back, and began to dig into the pocket of his jeans. "No problem." He held up his cell phone. "Post-birthday selfie?"

Keith shook his head with an amused smile, but he conceded. Lance directed him to stand at a spot where he could photograph both his boyfriend and the attraction sign in one shot.  
The pecan-haired man uploaded and tagged the photos on his social media, taking a moment to admire a photo of himself and Keith that had been taken by a helpful stranger next to them in the queue.

Keith game him an amused look. "I'm fine here if you and your phone would like to get a room."

Lance held the phone up so his boyfriend could see the photograph of the both of them. "I mean, hey, you can't blame a guy for admiring a memory like this, can you? And if we're being honest here… My cell's always been there, it doesn't put me down, stand me up, and it helps me look pretty."

Keith crossed his arms over his chest. "I hear it's secretly been seeing a younger model iPhone on the side." He remarked in deadpan. Lance looked at his phone with exaggerated betrayal.

"How could you, I thought we were exclusive… Pending network charges!"

People in the queue were starting to stare, so Lance discreetly slipped the device back into his pocket. He sidled up to his boyfriend, and wrapped an arm around Keith's waist.

"Feeling guilty?" The indigo-eyed man quipped.

"Just making sure the guy I care most about in the whole world doesn't get scared in the haunted house."

Keith smirked. "Shouldn't you be hugging yourself then? I'm not the one who gets scared easily."

Lance sniffed dismissively. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Keith rolled his eyes. "Whatever." His lips twisted into a soft but menacing smile. "How about we forget about the movie at the _Varsity_ and I put on The _Woman in Black_ instead?"

" _Nope_." Lance's response was quick, and an octave higher than normal.

* * *

The doors to the University Mortuary finally loomed before them, and a pair cast members, one dressed as a bloodied medical examiner, the other as a dishevelled orderly, beckoned the visitors closer.

"Ticketttttssss… Pleeeeasssseee…" The dishevelled orderly hissed, and he checked Keith and Lance's passes. The cast member tore them half-way through, and handed them back, passing their attention to the ghastly medical examiner.

"Welcome to the University Mortuary, look alive, watch your step, and try not to lose your head."

Lance chuckled, whilst Keith rolled his eyes. The cast members pulled the mock-wood and glass doors open, and the two men stepped into the haunted house.

The first room was what appeared to be a dimly lit entrance foyer. The room was a portrait of designed chaos, with dirt and grime-crusted tilework and plaster, stained paperwork that littered the floor, and a receptionist's desk that had been knocked askew.

The light was provided by a pair of dimly-lit art-deco pendant lights hung from the ceiling, and the flicker and flare of a knocked-over lamp on the desk.

Ahead of them, another set of mock-wood and glass doors beckoned. The pane in the right-hand door had been made up to look like it had been shattered, and fake blood had dripped down from the broken edge to the floor.  
Around them, a soundtrack of screams and unsettling industrial noises piped in from hidden speakers.

Keith and Lance crossed the foyer unaccosted, leaving them in anticipation of what lay ahead.

The double doors led into a long, dishevelled hallway. The left-hand junction was blocked by a pair of gurneys, one with a body bag with a decaying corpse spilling out of it.

"RRRRAggghhhh!" The corpse suddenly grabbed at Keith and Lance, and Lance's involuntary jump made Keith snicker. They backed away from the body bag corpse, and made their way along the right-hand junction.  
All along the ceiling, foam ceiling tiles had come down, exposing dislodged wiring and dark recesses. Lance was so busy watching out for something waiting to drop out of the ceiling, that he didn't notice the ghoul that burst out of a coffin that had been propped up against the side of the corridor.

"Yaahhh!" Lance yelped, and his boyfriend let out another amused snort. This was proving to be plenty of fun.

The pecan-haired man quickened the pace, turning a left-hand corner in the corridor, which brought them to a fresh set of doors. The fake glass was emblazoned with bold, black writing:

 **VIEWING ROOM**

Lance only hesitated for a moment, and pushed through the double doors.

The first thing that hit them was the moaning, coming from a collection of moving shadows partially obscured by a fake wooden barricade over a large picture window. Opposite the viewing window, a set of blood-splattered plastic waiting chairs lined the wall opposite the covered window. A tilted needlepoint sign read:

 **GRAVIORA  
MANENT**

The space was otherwise sparsely furnished, leaving Keith and Lance's attention to linger on the window, as the moans and movements on the opposite side of the picture window grew louder.  
The men moved to creep past the barred opening, only for the barrier to drop down abruptly, revealing a crowd of zombies reaching out from beyond a rim of fake broken glass.  
Lance and Keith dashed out of the far set of doors and further into the nightmare of the University Mortuary.

* * *

They'd entered the Autopsy Room, where several of the refrigerator doors hung open, smeared with various liquids, or shut, shaking and rattling loudly from the 'people' trapped inside.

A refrigerator draw burst open and a bloodied woman reached towards them, pleading: " _HEEEEELLLPPP!_ "  
Lance (and even Keith) jumped at the sudden surprise, making them stumble towards the autopsy table.

" _SAAAAAAVVVEEE MEEEE!_ " A body screamed as it sat upright on the table, causing a clump of viscera to tumble out of a chest cavity.

"Freeeeesh meeeeat?" A voice cried from a dirt-encrusted door in the corner, and a bloodied and crazed mortician with a bone saw darted into view. " _Freeeeesh meeeeat!_ "

"Yaaaaahhhhhh!" Lance screeched, and quickly dragged Keith out of the room into a new corridor.  
To their right lay a row of false external windows which had been shattered. Several had been boarded up, but a few were clear, revealing darkness beyond. As they proceeded down the hall, several large things dropped from the ceiling, causing Lance to brush wildly at his hair. Keith moved around the jiggling, over-sized animatronic spiders, and helped drag Lance away from the creepy crawlies.

He was starting to look frazzled from the experience. Keith shot him a reassuring smile. "We can duck out if you're not enjoying this." He nodded towards a door with a prominent EXIT sign above it.

Lance returned Keith's offer with a shaky smile. "Noooo, I know this is getting to me… But this is supposed to be part of your Birthday present." He gave Keith's arms a squeeze. "What good's a haunted house if it doesn't scare you, right?"

Keith nodded. "Right."

Lance turned to face the entrance to the next part of the dungeon. The rusted, flame-licked, vandalised sign proclaimed:

 **INCINERATOR ROOM-** ** _for more_**

"I mean… It's only the incinerator, what can go wrong?"

They pushed through the icky door into an extremely industrial-looking space. There was the manufactured scent of something decaying, and something else that had been burnt.  
There were bins overflowing with black plastic bags, several of which had ripped open to spill their contents onto the floor: disembodied arms, legs and miscellaneous bones lay akimbo like some macabre pick-n-mix, whilst chunks or torso were hung on hooks and chains from the ceiling. Towards the back of the room stood the incinerator, an unsettling monstrosity of singed brick, foul-stained metal and wildly fluctuating gauges.

As they reached the middle of the room, a limbless torso with hanging entrails swung down from the ceiling and smacked into the wall. Lance and Keith darted aside to avoid the scare.  
They were suddenly enveloped by a wave of heat from a hidden heater and a blast of air from an equally-concealed air blaster, bursts of steam and fake flames belched from the incinerator as it roared to life.

" _IIIIIIII'MMMMM BUUUUUURRRRNNNING!_ " The grate covering the front of the incinerator flung open from inside, and a blackened humanoid shape managed to partially crawl out.

Lance quickly darted from the room, Keith's hand clutched tightly in his own.

They were in a large room now, treated to look like it was meant to be outside of the building. The attraction owners had even gone to the effort to rig up an air conditioner to make it feel like it was the cold outdoors.

A chain-link fence lay along the perimeter of the fake space. The barrier rattled from a crowd of ghouls lining its length, and as Lance and Keith approached the middle of the room, several sections of the fence collapsed, clearly missing them. Free to enter, the undead began to make their way into the space… Whilst Lance dashed towards the way out.

They were in another corridor, this one with three-foot tall words written in fake blood on the dirty wall:

 _ **NO EXIT - ALL BODIES TO BE INTERRED…**_

They'd gotten two-thirds of the way down the hallway without anything jumping out of them, which meant Keith knew there'd be something in the final section.

They could see the exit ahead of them.

Which was when a body leapt out from a destroyed doorway, and one of its arms fell off.

" _Fuuuuuuuck!_ " Lance jolted back, and they were hit by a bright flash.  
Lance bounced against the hallway wall to avoid the cast member, and he ran hand-in-hand with Keith to the exit.

They burst out into a room that was decorated to resemble an abandoned staff locker room, however the presence of a counter lined with flatscreen monitors, and the more subdued atmosphere revealed that they'd stepped into the haunted house's exit chamber.

Lance glanced around, apprehensive of one last scare, but none seemed to be waiting in the wings.

They approached the counter, where a woman wearing a partially-burned orderly uniform, and make up to further the illusion, greeted them brightly. "Hey guys, did you enjoy the mortuary?"

"Yeah." Keith smiled. Lance offered an unconvincing nod of the head.

"Great." She smiled. "Your photo should be coming through now."

She clicked the mouse a few times, and a shot of Keith and Lance appeared on the screen. Keith was beaming. Lance looked terror-stricken.

"We'll take it." Keith grinned. The crew member sent the photo to print, and readied a cardboard frame and plastic bag as they waited.

"You good?" Keith asked, giving Lance's arm a supportive squeeze.

"Sure. Yeah. I'll be good once we get outside."

Keith nodded, hoping it reassured his boyfriend.

"Alright guys, here you go." The 'burned' woman handed Keith the bag containing their souvenir photo. "Thank you for visiting the University Mortuary… Hope you have a great Halloween."

"Happy Halloween." Keith returned.

"Yeah… What he said." Lance added.

The two men exited the chamber, and approached a pair of doors with a brightly-lit EXIT sign above them.

To either side of them, panels in the walls dropped away and a pair of cast members jumped out, making Lance and Keith jolt.

" _YYYYYARRRRGGHHHH!_ "

* * *

It was going to be a while before Lance ever elected to go into another haunted house, although the contentment pouring off of Keith was enough to justify his jarred nerves and racing pulse.

"Thanks, Lance. That was great."

The royal blue-eyed man gave his boyfriend a shrug and a fond smile. "Glad you enjoyed it."

"And… Y'know… Thanks for sticking around to the end."

Lance shrugged again. "It wouldn't have been fair on you to leave before the end… And this way, we got a neat souvenir of me looking scared shitless."

The remarked made Keith chuckle. "That's a weird bright side… But I'll take it."

Lance nodded, an amused half-smile gracing his lips. "Speaking of Halloween…"

The indigo-eyed man glanced at him as they walked "Yeah?"

"I was thinking about costumes."

Keith's tone was neutral; Lance could be a bit hit and miss with his costume ideas. "Yeah?"

"What do you think about us going as Romeo and Juliet… Or make that _Julian_ , for Halloween?"

Keith frowned. "It's… I'm just not sure if people would get it right away. Plus is there anywhere you know that rents Shakespeare costumes? And… Won't they get hot?"

Lance sidled closer, and nudged his boyfriend. "Speaking of hot…" He then frowned. "Alright. Yeah, it's not as obvious as I thought it'd be."

"I mean, it might work if you wore a dress."

Lance nodded. "And I have the right hips."

Keith smiled. Lance _didn't_ have the hips for a Shakespearean dress, but he wasn't going to tell him that right now. "Sure… Though I liked your idea about the Ghostbusters costumes."

Lance's enthusiasm broadened his smile. "Really?"

Keith nodded. "Yeah."

"Awesome. I think I know a place that still has them in stock. You up for some costume shopping tomorrow?"

Keith smirked. "Sure."

"Keith and Lance, busting ghosts and scoring candy. It's gonna be the perfect night." He glanced back at Keith. "And tonight's been pretty awesome too." Lance suddenly looked thoughtful. "Hey, what time does the show start?"

"The movie starts at eleven forty-five. Plenty of time for use to get there."

"You want to grab something to eat before the movie?"

"Sure." Keith smiled in agreement.

* * *

Dinner, in stark contrast to their visit to the University Mortuary, was a relaxed affair. They'd popped into _Earl's On The Avenue_ , a sports bar (with adjoining kitchen) on University Way, as it stood immediately next door to their final destination of the night: _Varsity Theatre_.  
Beyond the sports being shown on the establishment's televisions, the menu offered a degree of subdued excitement through its selection, with Lance grabbing the classic B.L.T. on sourdough, with Jalapeño poppers & fries, and Keith ordering the Meat Lover's pizza.

It was with a satisfying feeling of relaxation and contentment from their meal that Lance pushed open the door to the bar, and held for his boyfriend. They stepped out into the night, and strolled the short distance to the movie theatre.

The facade of the _Varsity_ was alive with light. A double-row of bulbs glowed underneath a metal trapezoidal marquee, the lower-half of which was painted emerald green, the upper-half in ocre. The front of the marquee was emblazoned with red, three-dimensional, metal neon-illuminated letters, which spelt out the theatre's name.  
The backlit letterboards were brightly illuminated, with solid black letters advertising the night's showing of _The Rocky Horror Picture Show_ , as well as other upcoming events. The edges of the marquee were trimmed with yellow and green strips of neon.

They sauntered towards the metal and glass doors at the theatre entrance, ducking past the queue gathered outside hoping to grab tickets for the late showing.  
Lance held the door open for his boyfriend, and Keith shot him an amused smile as they entered the lobby. Keith indicated the ticket/concession counter.

"I know we've just ate, but do you want anything for the movie?"

"Keeping up the movie date night tradition." Lance grinned as he sidled up to hug his boyfriend from behind. "Alright… It's not like we won't be burning it off later, anyway."

Keith gave him a half-hearted elbow to the gut, but he failed to hide the dangerous smirk he had. "Maybe."

* * *

Keith slipped into his seat, calmly juggling his small Coke, pack of M&Ms and the bag with the souvenir photograph due to the lack of cupholders for the grey, angular upholstered seats.  
As he got comfortable, Lance dropped into the seat beside him, his medium Fanta and bag of Starburst clutched tightly in his hands. There was a gentle murmur of voices as other patrons found their seats in the theatre's auditorium.

"So… Have you seen Rocky Horror before?"

Keith nodded. "Yeah, it used to get shown a lot on cable around Halloween."

"How old were you when you first watched it?"

Keith smirked. "Young enough that I shouldn't have been watching it."

Lance laughed. "I always knew my boyfriend was a teenage delinquent."

The other man chuckled. "I never said that. It was just this strange film that Shiro would always turn off if it came on when I was around. One night I finally caught it after he'd gone to bed-"

"When _you_ were supposed to be in bed as well."

"…When I was supposed to be in bed as well. _Yes_. And I learned pretty quickly why he hadn't wanted me to see it." Keith suddenly looked contemplative. "I guess it helped me work out a few things about myself back then."

Lance hesitated; he wasn't sure what was the best response to that candid remark. "So I owe Tim Curry in fishnets for helping you realise you're gay as hell?"

"You have seen it!"

"I really haven't!" Lance held up a free hand defensively. "It's just that you can only go so-far in the L.G.B.T.Q-plus community without seeing something from Rocky Horror."

Keith quietly chuckled. "Okay." He glanced back at the blank screen, a nostalgic look painting his features. "It wasn't Tim Curry in fishnets that gave me my… 'Gay awakening'… But yeah, this movie helped me realise I liked guys."

Lance looked towards the screen and gave it a salute. "Thanks you, weird, campy seventies B-movie parody!" They laughed for a bit, attracting a few looks from some of the people sat around them. Lance leant close to talk a bit more confidentially to his boyfriend. " _Sooooo_ … Who was your gay awakening?"

Keith's flashed with amusement. "Ben Barnes, in _Prince Caspian_."

Lance tried to remember the movie. "Did he go shirtless in that?"

Keith laughed. "No… But there was this scene where he's fighting a group of soldiers in a castle… And part-way through this battle, he's spinning and fighting with two swords."

Lance smiled. He should've known. "So you're saying that if I'd kicked some guys' asses with a couple of swords, maybe we might've ended up dating sooner?"

Keith shrugged; he was doing a terrible job at concealing his amused smirk. "We'll never know."

The seats had filled up a little more, and as Lance checked the time on his phone, the lights dimmed.  
The black curtains hiding the screen drew back to reveal the film certificate, which vanished as promptly as it had appeared.

The silence in the auditorium was burst by a pronounced music-hall style rendition of the 20th Century Fox fanfare, which cued the film company's logo from the 1970s to fade into view in front of them.

As the music came to a close, and darkness conquered the screen once more, the sound of a howling wind played through the theatre speakers as a caption appeared:

 **TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX PRESENTS**

Followed by:

 **A MICHAEL WHITE-LOU ADLER PRODUCTION**

A piano and guitar track began to play over the blackness, which were dominated by the sudden vision of a pair of lips, decorated in vivid-scarlet lipstick. The lips grew to fill the screen, and parted to sing the opening pre chorus:

 _"Michael Rennie was ill_  
 _The day the earth stood still_  
 _But he told us where we stand._  
 _And Flash Gordon was there_  
 _In silver underwear._  
 _Claude Raines was the invisible man._  
 _Then something went wrong_  
 _For Fay Wray and King Kong,_  
 _They got caught in a celluloid jam._  
 _Then at a deadly pace_  
 _It came from outer space,_  
 _And this is how the message ran…"_

The lips on the screen froze, shifting to black and white as a new title card, rendered in a gory crimson typeface appeared on the screen:

 **THE  
ROCKY HORROR  
PICTURE SHOW**

 _"Science Fiction, Double Feature._  
 _Dr. X will build a creature._  
 _See androids fighting Brad and Janet._  
 _Anne Francis stars in Forbidden Planet,_  
 _At the late night, double feature picture show…"_

* * *

It was close to half-past one when Keith and Lance exited the _Varsity_ , the indigo-eyed man was in a good mood, and Lance was (badly) humming along to some of the half-remembered songs from the film's soundtrack.

"That was weird… But in a fun kinda way."

"Mmmm." Keith hummed in agreement. Lance had one arm slung over Keith's shoulder, whilst his free hand held the bag containing their souvenir photograph.

"It's kinda giving me some ideas for Halloween."

Keith glanced towards his boyfriend. "Yeah?"

"Frank-N-Furter. I bet I could put something like that outfit together pretty easily."

Keith wasn't sure whether to find the idea funny, inspiring, or scary. Maybe it was a mix of all three. "You've got the legs for it." He conceded. "But what about the high heels?"

Lance considered the point. "Hmmm… I might try to find some shoes with thick heels… To help me stand."

Keith nodded. "Sure. So… Which version of Frank are you thinking of doing?"

"The first version of Frank's got a lot going for it, just imagine the kind of entrance I could have with a cape like that!"

"I already can."

"They're not going to see _that_ coming! The version of Frank with the leather biker jacket was pretty good, too."

"You might not be able to find all the stuff you need in time for Wednesday."

"Oh, I'm not thinking about this year, I'm talking Halloween twenty-nineteen!"

Keith smirked. "What happened to Romeo and Julian?"

"Hey, you were right about it being too obscure… And it doesn't really hold a candle to that big, gay extravaganza." He bobbed his head in the direction of the movie theatre.

Keith let out a laugh. "Glad you liked it."

"So… If you were going to dress up as a Rocky Horror character for Halloween, who'd you go as?"

"Riff Raff." Keith responded, without hesitation.

Lance adopted a wounded puppy look. "Awww, you wouldn't want to go as Rocky?"

"You'd be showing off enough skin for both of us." Keith pointed out, nudging his boyfriend.

"But you'd look hot in gold boxing shoes and hot pants."

"I probably would." Keith conceded. "And I'd probably mentally scar our friends and my brother forever."

Lance pouted, but he knew he couldn't have it all his way. " _Fiiiiine_. I'll be Frank, you'll be my… Handyman."

Keith smirked. "And with a bit of a mind flip…"

"…Let's do the Time Warp again!" Lance joined in. And they continued to sing, and jokingly dance as they made their way back to Keith's motorcycle.

As Lance settled in behind his partner, arms wrapped around Keith's waist, and photo held as carefully as possible, he leant forward and whispered into the rider's ear.

"Whatever happened to Saturday night?"

"When you dressed up sharp, and felt alright." The other man returned.

Keith slipped his helmet on and kick-started the Yamaha.  
He revved the engine, and they took off into early morning, wild and untamed creatures of the night, safe from their trouble and pain.


End file.
